Konoha Private Academy
by AlabasterConstellation
Summary: Naruto and the gang already have enough to deal with at Konaha Private Academy. When they discover a mysterious plan lead by Itachi Uchiha and his group of miscreants, its up to our beloved characters to uncover the plot while maintaining their grades, saving their love lives, and keeping their sanity in this twist on the classic high school drama! Mild Language
1. Chapter 1

"Wow! Finally we're HERE! Can you believe it? Konoha Academy! Damn, I don't think you guys understand how awesome it is to be here!" Naruto Uzumaki shouted, no proclaimed, his acceptance loud enough that the whole dorm exterior turned to look at the source of noise. Some snickered and some stood there smiling remembering their first day of high school. The day was warm and Naruto stretched his arms into the air pushing his fingertips towards the sky. He was as excited because Konoha Private High School was every kids dream. It had been his dream for as long as he could remember. This school was the best and only the best of the best had gone to this school. Each Hokage walked the very halls Naruto would soon place his feet upon and the very idea was humbling.

"This means I'M an ACADEMY ELITE! Sasuke did you get that?" He smirked stating the fact a bit too close to the Uchiha's face.

"Shut up moron. I don't think you understand that you had the worst grades out of all of us. You're lucky you barely got into this school so shut up about being 'elite'" Sasuke only glanced at Naruto as he closed the side door of the car. He wasn't going to let Naruto get too happy. Happy meant hyper and he knew the only way to prevent Naruto from getting any more excited was to cut him off before the energy branched out. He understood Naruto well enough that this one comment wasn't going to put him down. Sasuke needed to add more and fast. He turned back towards Naruto and folded his arms ready for battle.

"You're only here because Iruka is a teacher and Tsunade's the principal. Other than that you'd be at public school with the rest of the plebeians." That wasn't true. Sure it was true that Naruto did have the lowest grades out of everyone in his group of friends and he might not have had the most success with standardized exams. Everyone thought Naruto would fail. Even his adopted father Iruka lacked confidence in him. But with a lot of late night studying, encouragement, and a few hidden tricks, Naruto passed with flying colors. He had potential and that was enough to get him in.

"Why I ought of-" The blond was about to retort before a brunette boy, his hair in a ponytail that could never seem to stay down, interjected his threat.

"Cut it out you two. We seriously just got here. As if the 2 hour fight in the van wasn't enough you guys have to start it here too?" Shikamaru lazily moaned. He rolled his eyes as he pushed Naruto out of the way. It had taken them hours to drive to everyone's house and pack up all their stuff in the back of Kiba's van. He had unfortunately sat in between Naruto and Sasuke and was given the task of keeping both of them in line the entire ride. Currently the boys were pulling boxes out of the trunk of the car. Chouji tore off the top of a box labelled 'Medicine' and tossed Shikamaru a bottle of Tylenol.

"Hey! He started it by killing my vibe! He said-" Naruto defended almost dropping the lamp in his hands. He was starting to get sick of Shikamaru's high and mighty attitude.

"Look, I know what he said and I don't really care. Just enjoy the fact that you're here." The genius gave him a look indicating that the conversation was over. He popped a few aspiring into his mouth and started to chew on them. Why he put up with half of these guys was a wonder. Whenever the group of them got together, Shikamaru was always somehow in charge of keeping Naruto in line. It was probably because he was the only one with the responsibility, maturity, and most importantly, the patience to deal with Naruto . He always thought through everything he did. Nothing was unplanned with Shikamaru. So the boys knew that he knew what he was doing.

The academy was an accelerated joint high school and college program. If a student was accepted, they would skip their senior year of normal highscool and first three year of college to attend the academy for five years instead, taking the final two years to specialize in a major. Once they graduated, they received a high school and college diploma. It was incredibly prestigious and seen as a great honor to attend the Academy. Children of diplomats and prodigies from across the world came to the school and all moved onto become the next generation of 'Academy elite', a title given to Academy graduates that was universally known. Shikamaru was the first to be accepted into Konoha Private Academy earning a full scholarship at the age of 9.

_Why am I here again?_ He wondered while mindlessly unpacking the car. Why wasn't public school good enough? _Oh right. The freedom._ Freedom was something Shikamaru was desperate for. He was sick of his nagging mother who wouldn't let him be. If he went to Konaha University, he would have to commute from home since the college was so close. But at the academy, students were highly encouraged to live on campus. He could do whatever he wanted in his dormitory, sleep until whatever time he chose to rest at, hang out with his friends without making his bed, and most of all spend however long he wanted watching the clouds.

Once they were finished unloading the van they hastily separated their luggage. The new freshmen boys chatted animatedly asking when it was okay to use Shino's XBOX or where would Akamaru would stay . Kiba took out his schedule in a bored manner.

"What room number do you have Shino?" Kiba asked keeping one hand in his sweatshirt pockets. Shino couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Same as you Kiba since we picked each other as roommates. 412." He didn't even look Kiba's way. Eyeing each other, the other boys slowly took their schedule.

"No surprise here. I'm with Shikamaru." Chouji munched on his last chip. He smoothed out the plastic wrapper before carefully tucking it into his bag.

"Oh come on! That means I'm sharing with Sasuke! I put you down Chouji!" Naruto groaned.

"At least you know who you are rooming with Naruto. I have absolutely no clue." Sai expressed. He handed his schedule to Sasuke who checked with everyone else's papers. He shook his head.

"He's right. None of us are rooming with him."

"Whatever. Don't sweat it man. If you ever need to room somewhere you can sleep on our coach or something." Kiba patted him on the back. Sai smiled rather oddly back at him.

"You can share with me instead!" Naruto pitched in.

"I wouldn't want your company dickless." Sai pointed out. Fists clenched, Naruto was ready to throw a punch. What he would do to get rid of that idiotic nickname Sai had bestowed upon him. But before he could, something more important than childish nicknames caught his eyes. Three girls were strolling happily towards them. Their eyes showed signs of fatigue but more than that they showed pure joy. The pink one was almost skipping as her eyes scanned the green grass on which the boys were laying down. Naruto jumped up as Kiba and Chouji slowly got up to also greet the girls.

"Hey Sakura! Hey Hinata! Hey Ino-pig." The blond girl glared daggers at Naruto. The guys on the grass could feel the intensity of it and some (Shikamaru and Chouji because they knew all to well what would happen next) winced in anticipation.

"What the hell did you just call me?!" Ino shrieked. Her hair hit his faced as she hastily turned to the girl next to her. "How DARE you teach him such a stupid thing!" Ino was seething. Naruto backed up. Kiba quickly put his hands on Akamaru's ears.

"Cool down Ino! He didn't mean it. Did you Naruto?" Although it sounded innocent enough, the 17 year old bore holes into boy's head. She mouthed the words _Go die._

"Sorry. Sorry. Totally didn't mean it. You're not a pig. You're more of a…piglet?" Kiba was howling as Ino turned red. She looked like she might have strangled someone if Shino hadn't broken her out of her frenzy.

"Where are your belongings?" It was then that they all noticed the girls were empty hand. They couldn't possibly have come early enough to already have set up their entire dorm room.

"Oh well we just threw it in our rooms. We'll worry about that later. We have the most amazing news!" Sakura chirped out. She was waving her hands around excitedly which was something Sakura normally would restrain from. This indicated that her news was very important.

"You guys remember Neji, Lee, and Tenten right?"

"Of course. They are not a group we're likely to forget." Sasuke reassured her. The three of them were the first to attend the Academy since they were a grade older than the rest. Their encouragement was what convinced some of the less inclined members to accept KPA. Ino waved her hand motioning to get on with it. She looked like she was about to burst and say it herself.

"Well Tenten is staying in our room. She got permission from the vice principal to move to our apartment! How great is that! Now all four of us can be together!" She clapped her hands and stared at them for the reaction.

"Four? It's only two to an apartment." Shikamaru pointed out.

"Silly Shikamaru." Ino sighed. "You have two people to an apartment. In the girls dormitory we have four to an apartment. Two rooms for us can fit four girls as opposed to your small 1 bedroom shacks." She explained slowly like it was her birthright to live in a four person apartment. Meanwhile, Hinata was watching everything unfold and giggled as Ino folded her arms and saw Kiba roll his eyes muttering _Drama Queen_. Naruto caught her stare and grinned.

"Hey Hinata! Long time no see. You didn't even call or email or anything! Do you know how much I missed you over the summer? Where were you?" Naruto had happily jumped in front of her. With each question he got closer and closer. Before he could take one more step someone drag him back.

"Hey, what's the idea-?"

"Excuse me?" He looked up to see a pair of deep brown eyes that matched the color of the girl's hair. After seeing the buns on either side of her head he beamed at her.

"Hey there Tenten!" The greetings commenced. Squealing came from both Sakura and Ino as Hinata gave Tenten a gentle hug. There were comments like _how was your summer_ and _is school really that bad?_ After some time, Tenten was able to explain why she was absent for most of their summer.

"I went on a community service trip that Lee signed us up for. The house we built in Chile were cool but the endurance training we did in the Andes were what made it for us!" She smirked showing off her pearly whites.

"You got your braces off!" Hinata noticed.

"I'm not the only one to make a change. Rock Lee has -" The sentence was left unfinished because a tall boy with an odd bob cut jumped down from a 5 story balcony to land in front of them.

"HELLO MY YOUTHFUL FRESHMEN OF YOUTH." Most people near the dorm hardly bothered to look who it was. Only the newcomers waiting to get into their apartments turned to see what the commotion was about. Before them, Rock Lee stood with no jumpsuit or tracksuit. He wore a simple green t-shirt with white sleeves and denim jeans. It suited him. It made him proud that his new look was able to make all of his friends' mouths open wide.

"We gave him a new wardrobe but he refuses to let me fix those dreadful eyebrows or that hair of his. The caterpillars stay." She complained. Lee kindly bowed to show his agreement. Everyone was silent. They didn't know what to say. For the longest time Lee would only wear his jumpsuit. He said it was in order to be like his idol Gai-sensei. All they knew about the infamous Gai-Sensei was that he was the one who mentored Lee and that he was a gym teacher for the high school. Sakura was the first to say anything.

"Wow, Lee. This is quite an improvement. Honestly you look great." She hesitated.

"OH SAKURA! YOUR BEAUTIFUL WORDS INSPIRE ME! I HAVE MISSED YOU IN MY TIME HERE BUT NOW THAT YOU AND OUR FRIENDS HAVE REJOINED, I CAN TRULY BE HAPPY!" He shot his fists into the air. Ino laughed as Naruto and Kiba smirked at how foolish the sophomore was acting. Lee was about to launch into another monologue when a very handsome boy joined the group. Neji Hyuuga had finally arrived completing their group of friends.

"Lee what the hell are you screaming about now?" He hissed as he greeted the rest.

"NEJI I-"

"Nevermind."

"NEJI WE MUST TALK ABOUT-" Neji turned around quickly and sighed.

"We'll talk about whatever this is later." He turned to his friends. Scanning the crowd, he found Sasuke.

"Uchiha."

"Hyuuga." The two prodigies were sizing up one another. After assessing any changes, they made eye contact and began glaring at each other. It was a regular within the group. Off to the side Kiba, Chouji and Naruto were placing bets on who would interrupt it this time.

"As much as we would love to reminisce, would you both keep your egos to a minimum today?" Tenten interjected sarcastically as she cut them off.

"That'll be $5 from both of you." Kiba and Naruto fished out the cash in their pockets to place in Chouji's pudgy hand.

"Shikamaru's rubbing off on you." Kiba muttered. Akamaru barked in agreement. They were laughing and discussing the summer and chatting about the school year ahead of them when a tall and intimidating girl came into view. She was confident and it showed in the way she walked. She swayed her hips as she walked gracefully towards them while popping pink bubble gum. She never kicked dirt but as every time she placed her feet upon the ground it was almost as if every pebble around her was pushed out of the way by the very air beneath her foot. Four sandy blond ponytails stuck out from each corner of the back of her head. In her hand she had a traditional fan which she flipped open to wave at the group of kids lounging upon the front yard.

"Hey Tenten!"

"Hi Temari!" Tenten greeted back. She turned towards her younger group of friends. "Temari is a third year. She showed me the works of the school on my first day! It was great!" She finished as Temari joined the group

"How are all you guys? Excited to be the new freshmen? I mean seriously, I haven't seen you guys since grade school and now look at you!" She smiled from ear to ear.

"You three live in Tenten's dorm correct?" They fervently nodded. "I'm on the welcome committee. I live in an apartment off campus so you guys should come around some time! It'll be a fun year so don't sweat it 'kay?" Her teal blue eyes caught something that made her smiled even wider.

"Naruto! Gaara is also going to school here. He'll be excited to see you!" She informed him. Gaara was a friend of theirs from another country who had visited their school during a sports festival.

"Wow Gaara's coming here?" Naruto's blue eyes lit up. He looked at everyone with a look of excitement on his face. As he scanned the group, each person slowly began to smile as his enthusiasm rubbed off on them. His eyes stopped in front of Temari confused. "But who are you?" Temari raised an eyebrow.

"I'm Gaara's sister, Temari. His brother Kankuro is a sophomore here." Everyone sighed as Naruto looked at her apologetically.

"Sorry I must have forget" He laugh sheepishly brushing the hair on the back of his head.

"Temari is also captain of the basketball team! Can you believe it? She's only a junior too!" Tenten was bragging for Temari. But that was how she was. Her best friend Hinata never showed off her new clothes or pointed out that she made first place in a competition. Tenten was used to having to tell everyone all of her accomplishments like a proud mother hen. The habit had stayed with her.

"It's nothing big. But I'm positive that you'll have a spot on the team again this year." She winked at the astonished Tenten.

"Really? Can I still be forward?"

"We'll see about that." She was about to finish when she saw a group of girls fighting over something near the opposite end of the lawn.

"Well I'll see you guys later. It seems like my jobs starts now." She raced away joining in on the screaming girls. One look at Temari and quarreling girls kept quiet as she kindly explained how it worked around here. Hinata looked at her watch and gasped.

"Well I-it seems l-l-like we should g-go unpack." She suggested showing Sakura the face of her watch..

"Oh I'm just so excited to start decorating!" Ino squealed. The four girls quickly left leaving the rest of them to sit on the grass.

"Looks like we had better get started." Shikamaru groaned.


	2. Chapter 2

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WARNING. This chapter contains mild language!

* * *

"Guys you have to look at this! This view is incredible!" Sakura exclaimed pushing her face as close to the window as she possibly could.

Behind her, Ino was sprawled across the lush carpet looking towards the pink girl who looked like an excited pup with her knees on the arm of the sofa and forearms pressed against the glass. Ino rolled her eyes as she let herself enjoy the moment. Hinata looked around taking in the modern apartment suite. They had a cozy living room and spacious kitchen that looked almost as if they were taken directly out of a model home catalog. A hallway opposite of the kitchen lead to two bedrooms on either side and ended with a comfortably large bathroom. She looked backed over to the living room where boxes upon boxes were piled up waiting to be unpacked. She made eye contact with Tenten who, having already gone through the intrigue of the first days of school, had already begun moving boxes into her room.

"Tenten will you quit it. You're ruining this perfect atmosphere. Just sit for a second and let me appreciate the fact that I am actually in my very own apartment." Ino commanded from the middle of the room. Tenten dropped the box she was holding and sat cross legged next to the blond girl who turned her head towards Sakura.

"And you! Calm down already!" She smiled towards Sakura who just shot her an excited glance and looked back down towards the remaining students on the lawn. She could see everything that was happening on the quad from her window. She was able to spot high school students waving goodbye to their parents, some boys high fiving their goodbyes, and a group of girl hugging and smiling. The beginning of the school year always brought a small nostalgic joy to her. Ino thought it was weird the way Sakura loved school supply shopping and looking at the back to school ads. But back to school meant more than just learning to her. She could spent most of her day with her friends and now going to boarding school she could spend her whole day with her friends. Sakura tore her eyes away from the magnificent buildings and sat back down on the couch looking at her friends. Hinata was slowly and quietly unpacking some kitchen supplies from the cardboard boxes and placing them into their respective cabinets. Tenten was stacking small items on top of Ino's stomach as Ino, in a very Shikamaru position, had one arm above her eyes and the other slowly taking the small items off of her stomach.

"Tenten, " Sakura gained the brunettes attention. With eyes filled with curiosity she asked "What was your first day of high school like?" Tenten stopped stacking objects and looked at Sakura with a smile on her face.

"Well I didn't really know that many people you know? So when I came in, it was just Lee and Neji that I knew and I clearly couldn't have lived with them. So I had three random roommates. I liked them well enough and we're still pretty good friends now." Tenten pulled one of the boxes labelled _Bedding_ towards her and pulled out her pillow.

"Of course I didn't like them enough that I would pick them over you idiots." She held the pillow high over her head and before Ino could react she brought it hard down onto the blonde's face. She gave a great roar as she tore the pillow out of Tenten's hand and began to chuck the small objects Tenten had previously been piling on her stomach back at the girl. Sakura laughed very loudly and before she knew it Ino was aiming the pillow at her. An enormous pillow hit the green eyed girl's face as she shrieked.

"Oh no you did not!" Sakura growl as she pummeled into Ino. Tenten joined in on the fight throwing herself on top of the two girls. Hinata giggled as she idly put away a cupcake tin. A loud knock on the door interrupted them and someone abruptly entered their room.

"Oy! What the hell is going on?!" A girl with pink hair that was much too bright to match Sakura's light hair was standing at the doorway. She wore an oversized t-shirt and and dark ripped jeans. Her ears were lined with piercings and she wore menacing purple eyeliner. The girl scanned the room, eyes finally landing on Tenten. She folded her arms and glared at her.

"Oh of course its you"

"Sorry Tayuya. We were just having a little fun." Tenten muttered. The girl at the door frowned.

"Seriously Tenten? It's only been a few hours and you're already making a fucking mess of things. Shut the fuck up already will you?" Tayuya slammed the door leaving the room incredibly surprised with the girl's actions. Tenten rolled her eyes and threw the pillow back into the box. She fell onto the couch and began muttering words that sounded awfully close to "skank" and "bitch".

"What just happened?" Ino said slowly getting off the ground looking towards Tenten. Hinata was frozen, her hands still holding the cupcake tin.

"That was the lovely and charming Tayuya. I seriously cannot stand that bitch. She's part of this stupid group of idiots that called themselves the 'Sound 5'. What a bunch of pricks." She said though gritted teeth.

"Musical talent has nothing to do with the name. In fact none of them do anything remotely musical other than Tayuya. She's a flute prodigy and god knows that's probably the only reason she's still at this school. They're the only ones here from Otogakure. There used to be six of them in the group. This upperclassmen named Kimimaru used to hang out with them but something must have happened because you don't see him sitting with them at lunch anymore. Serves them right those prats. I swear if I could have another go at the girl." Tenten's voice trailed off as she seemed to be thinking back upon a fond memory. Ino motioned for her to continue and she snapped back into motion.

"There was this rumor going around that she was dating a senior, Hidan. I mean they do have the same personality but that's absurd. I was under the impression she was dating Kimimaru but who can really understand the intricacies of the Sound 5." She said these last words with emphasized sarcasm.

"Just curious, if we're here for five years, and a first year is a freshman and a second year is a sophomore, so on and so forth, what do you call a fifth year?" Sakura asked.

"We call them fivers." Tenten said casually as Ino rolled her eyes at the word. Tenten dug into her bag and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper. She smoothed the paper down onto the floor and took out her highlighter from her bag as well. She looked down at it and began highlighting words and mapping out paths. Sakura soon followed suit and pulled out her class schedule. Hinata and Ino both went to grab their book bags and sat down with Tenten to looks at their respective schedules.

"Augh I have Gai-Sensei again for gym! This year is going to be hell. And they say Anko is the worst." She mumbled to herself. Ino looked over her paper.

"Is Asuma any good? I have him first." Ino shoved her long blue fingernails at the name printed.

"I have no idea. I never had him or any of your teachers." Tenten didn't even look at their schedule and kept studying her own.

"What on earth do you mean? You went to school here right?" Sakura was annoyed with the lack of help Tenten was giving them. Tenten looked their way and smiled.

"I would have thought someone as smart as you Sakura would have read the fine print. Your teachers stay the same for your first three years before you specialize. I had Gai as my homeroom teacher. My other teachers were Kabuto sensei, two fresh from college kids Kotetsu and Izuma and loads others. You're stuck with whatever teachers you have for three years so just hope their good." She laughed when she saw Hatake Kakashi written on Ino's schedule. "Gai-sensei's 'Eternal Rival' is Kakashi. Gai says he's much too lazy and hardly arrives on time."

"YES! I have him first which means I can sleep in!" Sakura stuck her tongue out at Ino. The blond threw her hands in the air exasperated.

"You've got to be kidding me! What's the point in having you as a friend if you can't even give us any insight on our teachers." Grabbing her schedule, Ino shoved the paper back into her book bag. She looked at her watch.

"Guys we have a student orientation in 10 minutes. We better head out."

The girls hastily pushed the boxes out of the way so they could reach the door. The living room was covered in paper and books, clothes and makeup, and pots and pans. They knew a nights worth of cleaning and unpacking awaited them when they came back. As Sakura locked the door, Hinata looked down the hallways. All the doors were open and she could hear girls still introducing themselves to their new roommates. The hall was filled with warmth and excitement as they walked down the corridor hearing giggles and witnessing new friendships being formed. As they exited the dorm, Tenten broke apart from them.

"Hey I have somewhere else to be. Practice and stuff you know? I'll see you around." Tenten departed without much of a goodbye. She left the girls to aimlessly wander the pathway across the neatly mowed lawn of the campus. They passed marble buildings making sure to take note of the names and remember the path to each one. At the end of the enormous quad they spotted large groups of students piling into an impressive looking dome. They followed a particularly nervous group of boys into the building labelled _Konoha Performing Arts Auditorium_. Red curtains were pulled aside to reveal a large black double door that was opened wide. Two pale twins stood at either side of the door.

The twins had light green eye shadow under their eyes. It was a strange look that gave them the illusion of intimidation. Light pale blond hair fell across their forehead covering half of their face. The twins were almost indistinguishable with the only indication of any difference between the two was the way they parted their hair; one parted his to the left and the other right.

"Welcome freshmen." One of the boys said as he gestured towards the door.

"Come in and have a nice year." The second one greeted. Something about their voices sounded oily and slick. They grinned towards Ino, Sakura, and Hinata as they approached the double doors. Ino made eye contact with on of the twins who smiled even wider and winked at her. She blushed and smiled hesitantly back.

"Are you ladies excited for the new school year?" The twin to the right beckoned them over. Before he could say anything else another upperclassman interrupted him.

"Sakon Ukon! Dudes come on. Leave these girls alone." A very tan man wearing a spiderman t-shirt rolled his eyes as he walked up to them. He stood in front of the girls almost a couple of heads taller than them. Ino, the tallest of the girls, had to look up to see the man's face. The first things she noticed were his very muscular arms. He winked down at her.

"Kidomaru," said the other twin as he left his post on the other side of the door to move towards them. "We were only helping out our fellow classmates." He looked at his friend in mock innocence. Hinata would have believed it if she hadn't noticed the small smirk that played on his lips. She looked wearily at Sakura who also seemed unsure of what to make of these guys.

"Since when were you one to tell us off." The left one said roughly. He eyed Kidomaru with a glare that made the boy put his hands up defensively.

"Whoa calm down. Tayuya just informed me that these were Tenten's roommates. So cool it down with the creepy twin thing." Both boys turned to get a good look at the three in front of them. The one on the left smirked.

"You kn-kn-know T-Tenten?" Hinata asked cautiously.

"Yeah. She's known for having a strange attraction to anything sharp including that Hyuuga boy." He snickered as Sakon rolled his eyes. Ino made a mental note of this comment. "Anyone in a mile radius is in danger if she has a sharpened pencil in her hands. Tayuya got the bad side of that last year." Sakon and Ukon were smiling eerily remembering a frightening incident that had something to do with Tenten and a pencil.

"You mean the crazy pink one?" Sakura gasped unsure.

"Don't let Tayuya hear you say that." Ukon said smiling once again at Sakura. She looked away, hesitant to make eye contact with this twin.

"Excuse me for saying this but aren't you a pink one yourself." Sakon mentioned as he flashed a charming smile. Sakura couldn't help but smile back. Next to her, Ino stifled a giggle.

"You had better get going ladies." Ukon gestured to the door once again. Sakon mimicked his movements but kept the smile on his face.

"You don't want to keep Tsunade-same waiting."

"Thanks." Ino winked back at them as they went through the door. The auditorium was larger than any they had ever seen. The walls were adorned with luxurious looking red velvet and their eyes darted over the many large private boxes that looked as if they were meant to seat royal dignitaries. As they walked through the many rows of the auditorium, Ino spotted a familiar group of boys. She waved her arms at them and motioned for Hinata and Sakura to follow her.

"I don't like them." Hinata said as they sat down. "They have a creepy feeling to them. Those twins I mean."

"What are you talking about? Those twins were simply charming. One for you and one for me." Ino nudged Sakura who rolled her eyes. "That spider man boy was weird though. I mean seriously, who tans for that long?"

"Hello there Beauty. What took you girls so long? Gaara has been waiting to see you." Sai was the first to notice them. Sure enough a red haired boy was watching them from in between Naruto and Sai. He greeted them politely, asking them how their summers were and how they had settled in. There was some seat shifting and arguing until everyone was sitting where they preferred to. After what seemed like over half and hour, the lights began to dim and a silence fell over the audience.

On stage there was a single grand podium. Behind the podium sat a group of eight boys all of them mature and many guessed they were seniors. Sasuke was burning holes into one of the men on stage. Past the curtain a blond lady with a billowing cleavage stepped out from behind the row of boys. She gracefully walked up to the podium. It could have been the lighting, but for some reason there was a certain glow about the woman. She was confident and radiant. This was Tenten's idol and Sakura's mentor, Godaime Tsunade.

"Welcome new students to the Konoha Private Academy. My name is Tsunade Godaime and I am the dean of this school. You will refer to me as Tsunade-sama." She smiled at the large audience. She stood tall, large chest puffed up to show the school's crest shining brilliantly under the stage lights.

"I am proud to congratulate you on your acceptance to this prestigious and historic school. You have been chosen among the thousands of other applicants to represent our Academy. You are our brightest, strongest, and most intelligent and it is my mission to provide an atmosphere of learning and understanding that will nurture further growth and progress. Under the guidance of our highly qualified staff, I am confident that each of you will meet your full potential. As I look across this class room I see a group of young individuals who will one day grow up to become surgeons, engineers, professors, diplomats, and maybe even Hokages." Naruto's eyes grew wider after this particular sentence.

"In return for my unwavering confidence and trust, I expect every student to abide by the few and necessary rules that this school has laid down. Here to help me explain them are a group of our most successful student who I am excited to announce are moving onto their final year here and will soon be venturing on to successful careers outside of the academy." Her hand motioned towards the group of seniors.

"I hope that their influence will open your eyes to all that our school has to offer. Congratulations once again and welcome to the Konoha Private Academy." She concluded her speech with a small bow and walked back behind the boys to take a seat in a large leather chair. The freshman clapped in excitement. The speech had done its job in instilling an air of excitement and privilege to the new students. Slowly one of the seniors got up from his seat and moved towards the stadium. The man had pale perfect skin with long black hair tied back in a delicate pony tail. His face was handsome and stern. Dark circles could be seen under his strong eyes and he cast a quick cursory glance across the auditorium. His eyes looked towards a boy with similar features for barely a second before he turned back towards the microphone. His lips peeled apart to form a small and polite smiled towards the students. Some of the girls gasped in awe at how ridiculously beautiful this senior was. Sasuke's face hardened as he recognized the man.

"Hello students. My name is Itachi Uchiha. I am a fourth year here double majoring in both Business and Computer Science" Naruto froze and looked towards Sasuke who was ignoring his friend's stare. He calmly looked forward clenching his fists.

"I would like to mimic Tsunade-sama's sentiments and once again congratulate such a fine student body. I am here today to explain some of the academic and behavioral procedures here at KPA. First and foremost, as many of you know, the Academy is a five year program where in which you will choose a major like you would at any normal university at the end of your third year. Your first two years you will be taking all of the same general education classes as your peers. During your third year, you will be asked to choose various classes that exemplify the topic areas of your interested career choices and at the end of your third year you will be asked to declare a major. A one on one consultation before your fourth year will help you decide which classes to take for the next two years.

At our school we pride ourselves on being the best. We organize school festivals that host student and diplomats from across the world. Some of the most important officials send their children here because they know that our school has the highest reputation. A reputation that will not be tarnished by any innappropriate actions. In order to keep our standing as one of the finest high schools we must ensure that our students stay out of any trouble. You must present yourselves in the most professional light at all times. Brush up on your etiquette. Remember your manners. Do not do anything that could compromise the integrity of our school because I warn you, the punishments will be severe." He had a cold tone to his voice. The harshness was subtle but to anyone who caught it, it seemed overwhelming. He concluded his speech with a bow and sat back down. Tsunade nodded in approval.

"You're kidding me? Itachi said a bunch of pretty words and he's going to get all the credit." A blond haired boy who could have been confused as a girl with a very manly voice laughed. Itachi shot him a glare. He whispered something to the senior next to him with bright blue hair. The man got up revealing the swim team logo on his shirt. He approached the podium jauntily.

"My name is Kisame. Please call me Kisame-sempai." He grinned, showing off his sharp teeth to a few of the freshman girls in the first few rows.

"I'm the captain of the varsity swim team. This school's got a variety of clubs and sports teams and we expect you join at least one this year to experience what the school has to offer. It would be a shame to not take advantage of the many opportunities around you. You need a C average to stay in either a team or club. The only difference between teams at a normal school and our teams is how we choose teams. You need to assemble your own teams then compete against others who have assembled their teams. The winning team gets to represent our school. Football season is starting so you better start recruiting your teams now. We're used to winning here at Konoha so don't let us down." With that he left and patted a blond on the back cuing him to go up next. It was almost like a tag team battle.

"See at least Kisame put some effort into it." The blonde mumbled as he past by Itachi. He lazily slouched against the podium letting his arms dangle on it.

"We have a dress code here. We find that the sudden change effects our newer students and the stability of a uniform generally helps freshman and removes some decision fatigue. But it's only for the first two years." He eyed the girls in the audience gasping as though the end of the earth was upon them. Ino groaned at her luck. Two years of wearing the same exact same thing every day.

"So guys need to have a button down white shirt and black pants. During formal invitationals you must wear the school coat and tie which you'll find in your closets. If it doesn't fit you can always exchange them at the student services office. Girls must wear black skirts and a white button down shirt. Skirts have to be a decent length not like it matters to me." He smirked looking back at his fellow seniors. Someone in the audience was shouting something. "I'm wearing the uniform now as an example."

"What are you saying?" Deidara motioned for the crowd to be quiet.

"Why are you wearing the guys' uniform then?" A boy in the back pointed out. This caused some of the men behind Deidara to snicker.

"Why I aught of kill you. I'm a GUY you dip wad!" Deidara threw his hands in the air. He sat back down annoyed as ever. He tagged the red head next to him but the boy shook his head. He motioned for Deidara to listen. He whispered something into the blond boy's ear which made him smirk. Deidara walked up to the boy with bleach blond hair and whispered something into his ears. The bleached kid glared at Deidara but reluctantly got up to speak.

"So I'm Hidan not that it should matter to you shits." He smirked. In return he got an angry look from Tsunade who was already tired of his foul language.

"Yeah I'm going to explain our behavioral rules." The whole row of seniors was laughing. Hidan turned to look at them and his face showed pure hatred for the blonde.

"The most behaviorally challenged kid in this entire school is going to teach these freshmen? Now that's a hilarious." Kisame laughed. Deidara and a kid with oddly shaped glasses were almost rolling on the floor.

"Well you know what? These fucking idiots could learn some pretty damn good lessons from me. You think an ass wipe like you could show them a fucking thing or two? Do ya?" He was heated up. Tsunade had stood up by now.

"Hidan!" She yelled. "Sit down and get someone more competent on this stage." She sat down massaging her forehead. Hidan flushed as he went back and pushed the glasses kid off of his seat. He had spiky black hair and thick rimmed glasses. For some reason they were tinted dark enough that no one could look at his eyes.

"Tobi will teach freshmen to be a good boy like Tobi. To be a good boy like Tobi you must-wait. There are girls here so…" He muttered to himself innocently. His group members smirked or rolled their eyes. His innocent façade couldn't fool them.

"Tobi I really don't have the patience to deal with your stupidity right now!" Tsunade shrieked. She was muttering to herself about the lack of respect when the red head finally got up.

"See," He addressed his fellow classmates. "This is why I thought Hidan should have gone first. Entertainment. Tobi was just the 2 for 1 deal." He looked towards Hidan with a smug look. Hidan in return gave an unpleasant hand gesture towards him making Tsunade growl.

"Hello freshmen! My name is Sasori and I apologize for the delay." He smirked. The audience giggled.

"Please keep all hands and ligaments to yourself. Fights will not be tolerated. If any word of police or gang affiliation is heard of it is an automatic suspension. A perfect example of what not to be like is our good friend Hidan." He waved his arms almost like a game show host.

"He has managed to land himself the most detentions in the history of this school in the 3 years he has been here. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated. You will be severely punished so unless you wish to break this idiot's record I suggest sticking to the rules." Sasori finished his speech and mock bowed. He nonchalantly lingered around Hidan before tapping the person next to the bleach blond casually.

"So freshmen, my name is Kakuzo. Seeing as many of you are only children and hardly know the value of money, I am going to address to you the financial aspect our humble school. You can buy whatever you please in our lovely cafeteria. That does not stop you from purchasing anything from a grocery store. Any expenses related to school, such as an extra tie or gym equipment will be addressed at the student services building. Tuition can be paid for online or at the financial services office. Thank you." He quietly sat down. He hardly made an impression. His whole body was covered. No skin was shown. In order to cover his face he wore a large cap and tinted glasses as well.

Tsunade motioned to the final boy to speak up. He was slightly pale. Much like the rest of his friends he had very eye catching hair that was unique to the newcomers. One side was pure black while the other side was dyed unnaturally bleach like Hidan's. As he got up to the podium, he patted his fellow seniors on the back.

"On behalf of the entire senior class, I send you freshman my regards and hope for the best. You are our future." He smiled and the lights dimmed.


	3. Chapter 3

Once the final senior had his say, the lights in the auditorium were lit back up and doors on either side of the stage were opened. The students were piling out of the auditorium through the exits that led to a luscious green plot where the older students were already waiting. They were intimidating not because of their class but because of their nonchalance. They paid no mind to any of the freshmen that were walking past them. The seniors just talked among themselves, telling stories about their summers and eagerly discussing their plans for the new year. Some of the senior girls were catching looks at some of the more handsome freshman boys giggling about being "cougars". A particularly pretty senior girl with lavender hair winked at Chouji who smiled back at her sheepishly.

Of all the seniors, Hidan was the loudest, bellowing at the red headed boy. Kiba looked over to find Hidan had Sasori in a choke hold.

"Sasori you son of a bitch. Why the fuck would you put me in charge of explaining behavior? Are you just fucking with me?" He released Sasori from his hold, turned him around, and pulled up on Sasori's collar. Although the gesture seemed painful all of the seniors seemed to be laughing. Some only smirked and some genuinely found it amusing. "I bet you waited all fucking summer to screw with me like that!"

"Actually," Sasori began after catching his breath. He had just been thrown onto the ground. "it was Itachi's idea." He turned his head towards the tall Uchiha who didn't even look towards his mess of friends. His eyes followed the blond boy walking next to his brother. Hidan was ready to come at Itachi but as soon as he began to move towards the man, Itachi turned his head and gave Hidan a cold look. Hidan hesitated and moved back towards Sasori, looking away from Itachi and opted instead to pull Sasori up from the ground and helping him pat dirt off of his shirt.

Once all of the freshmen had seated themselves comfortably upon the green, a black boy with a purple afro got up to speak. In a heavy Jamaican accent he began to read off a sheet of paper.

"Here are a select group of seniors chosen to guide you freshmen around your new high school campus. Please be courteous as I call your names and the senior who you will be placed with." For a while the boy called out names that were not relevant to the group of freshmen in context. But sooner or later they began to hear their names being called.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Ino Yamanaka. You three are with Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki." The swim team kid waved cheerfully at them and motioned for Naruto, Sakura, and Ino to join them. Itachi continued to watch Naruto as he moved over to them.

"Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akamichi. You both have Hidan and Kakuzu."

"Sasuke Uchiha, oh wow," He glanced around looking for Sasuke. "I can't believe there's another Uchiha, Shino Aburame, and Sai. You are placed

with Tobi and Zetsu."

"Kiba Inuzuka, Subaku no Gaara, and Hinata Hyuuga. I can't believe there are so many familiar names this year. You three have Deidara and Sasori." He went on with his list as the 11 of them branched off into their respective groups.

It was rather awkward for Naruto, Sakura, and Ino to approach the elder Uchiha for they also grew up loathing him due to Sasuke's influence.

"Hello there." Kisame greeted them. He strolled in front of Sakura and gave her a very toothy grin. "My, what pretty hair you have." He went to take a strand of hair to examine it further. She pulled back hard, almost falling backwards in the process. Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you the big bad wolf?" Ino spat acidly at the boy. She and Sakura exchanged looks.

"Kisame don't frighten them." Itachi calmly responded. He walked towards a mass of buildings and the rest followed.

* * *

"Oy you! HEY YOU! Come on!" Hidan was fuming. Not only did he have to participate in an embarrassing assembly but he had to give these two annoying kids a tour of his school. One of these kids was either very stupid or retarded because he hardly kept up or paid attention. The other was just fat.

"What a drag." Shikamaru grumbled. The senior he was with was the loudmouth of the bunch who couldn't seem to close his mouth for a second. The lay out was self explanatory. A simple walk would do. Did he honestly have to reply to everything this senior asked him?

"What the hell did you just say?"

"Nothing."

"No go on repeat it. I dare you."

"I said nothing."

"That's what I thought." A smirk was shown clearly on Hidan's lips. Behind him, Kakuzu was fiddling around with a coin. He passed it from one knuckle to the next. It was simple trick that made Kakuzu look like a miser. Next to him was the fat kid. The boy had a bag of BBQ lays in his hand.

"Hey Fatty, give me a chip will you?"

Shikamaru stopped right there. He took a large step back.

"I would not have said that if I were you." Before Shikamaru's comment could have been fully comprehended by Hidan, Chouji charged at the senior.

"Get him off of me. WHAT THE FUCK!" _This year is going to suck, _Shikamaru thought.

* * *

"So Tobi is a good kid. A very good kid. But Itachi isn't and you look a lot like him. That's so funny!" Although the sun was illuminating intensely on the fine day Sasuke felt darkness around him. It might have been the tense atmosphere he was producing or just Tobi's shadow over his shoulder. The boy had yet to stop talking because all he did was ask questions or remind them that he was indeed a very good boy.

"Stay away from me you freak." Tobi stopped and looked at Sasuke. He would have given the impression that he was insulted if not for the slight hint of an amusement in the senior's voice.

"Why would you say that? I'm such a good boy!"

"A good boy? Like a nick name." Obsession came into play. Already Sai was analyzing, categorizing, and naming the men he just met. He settled for good boy. Following slowly behind, Shino and Zetsu were having an intense discussion about different classes and what to expect in the coming year. Before Sai could control himself he let out his thoughts.

"Skunk." He pointed to Zetsu. Sasuke quickly covered Sai's mouth hoping to restrain any other flow of idiocy that might escape. They braced for the impact. But nothing came. Almost as if he hadn't even heard anything, Zetsu kept walking on conversing with Shino who gave them a glare (which was hardly visible through his glasses).

* * *

"So you're Sasuke's brother huh?" Naruto interrupted the tour taking place. He wasn't interested in how well kept the lawn was. He knew that Ino and Sakura were just as curious as he was to learn more about the elusive Itachi Uchiha they had heard so little about.

"Well my last name happens to be Uchiha." The senior kept walking on.

"Yeah really Naruto. Don't ask stupid questions." Sakura threatened. Curious as she was she held back any sign of interest towards the older Uchiha. No fraternizing with the enemy. She was going to stay loyal to Sasuke. No matter how good looking his brother was.

"Seriously. They have the same dreamy likeness. It's like looking at a much older and mature Sasuke." The words escaped Ino's lips. She snapped out of her dazed and dramatically covered her mouth. Sakura's eyes widened and Naruto gasped. What the hell was she saying?

"Watch out Itachi. It seems like you have another fan girl on your case." Kisame chuckled as he put his hand on Itachi's shoulders. "Damn. How do you do it?"

"I am NOT a fan girl." She was reassuring herself more than she was negating Kisame's statement.

"It wouldn't be so bad if you were." Sakura replied as she walked ahead. "This means you'll give up on Sasuke." It was frightening but Naruto had gotten used to the mild venom in Sakura's voice. She saved this special brand of sarcasm and malice just for Ino. It took their group of friends a while to get accustomed the peculiar friendship the two have. Kisame was getting himself ready to deal with a cat fight. Casually Ino walked side by side with Sakura. She turned to her and sweetly smiled.

"Over my dead body, Bill Board Brow."

"That might be sooner than you think Ino pig." Sakura smiled and cocked her head at Ino. Ino laughed and kept on walking.

"What the hell?" Even Itachi didn't have a response to Kisame's reaction_._

* * *

"Yo. Sasori-dono. Isn't this kid just hilarious, un?" Deidara let his arm lay harmlessly on Gaara's shoulders. Kiba could feel the glare emitting from Gaara but obviously the senior was immune. Too much time hanging out with Sasori had given Deidara immunity to glares.

"He doesn't say a word, yeah? Should I poke him, un?" As slowly and dramatically raised his finger to poke Gaara, Kiba's hand got in the way. Gaara was about to give Kiba a look of thanks before Kiba spoke again.

"Dude. You should obviously use a stick. It ticks him off more." Gaara twitched. He didn't need to be here. He could have gone to Suna's Prep Academy. No one there would bother him. Then again no one there liked him either.

Konoha was an entirely different culture. In Suna Gaara was judged on wealth and background alone. Here in Konoha no one cared where you came from. Even someone like Naruto could rise up and defeat the odds. But no. Naruto wasn't here right now. It was Kiba. And the blond idiot reaching over for a stick.

"Don't touch me." Gaara threatened and walked on.

"Woah." The blond senior stared in awe. "He does talk. For a second I thought he was mute, un. Hey come back here!"

"I-I think w-w-we should move o-on w-w-with the t-tour." Hinata stuttered.

"Lovely idea, Miss?" Smiling like a god, Sasori looked towards her and held out his hand. She shyly shook his hand.

"H-Hyuuga. Hinata H-Hyuuga."

"Well thank you Miss Hyuuga. Let's move on shall we?"

"Yeah miss Hyuuga." Kiba laughed. The redhead then smiled at him. Only if one looked close enough could they see the malice in his eyes. Though Hinata was oblivious to the hidden glare, Kiba saw right through it.

* * *

"Now if you look to your left you'll notice a large campus. These building are for all our recreational sports such as swimming and basketball. You can come here anytime you like. Over there's one of our students." He pointed to a girl with two buns and a kunai in her hand. She ran forward to attack a large straw mannequin.

"Tenten?" Ino looked surprised. She knew Tenten was a master in the martial arts. It's all she really seemed to care about. That and Neji. But weapons? Wasn't that just a little dangerous for high school? Almost as he read her mind Itachi answered calmly.

"She had to fill out lots of paper work in order to keep her … toys here with her."

"She's feisty that one." Kisame licked his lips. Naruto looked disgusted but when he turned back to look at Tenten, a flash of pride and fear ran through him.

* * *

"Hidan remember. It's pleasantly plump." Kakuzu mocked. Hidan was still recovering from the wrestling match he had just encountered. Freshmen were such a joke.

"Shut the fuck up. Damn kids."

As the group kept walking Shikamaru looked towards the clouds and momentarily escaped from the tortuous trip he was having.

"Oy! Lazy! Get you're ass over here!"

"Troublesome."

"I'm gonna let that one slide." Hidan shouted right in Shikamaru's ear. "Now listen. There's a cafeteria right on campus but you don't have to eat on grounds. You can go to the town and eat whatever shit you damn well choose. Understand?" He laughed at Shikamaru and knocked on his head implying there was nothing in there. Chouji was getting fed up with the man's antics. For the boy with a high tolerance for stupidity this was getting out of hand.

"I think he does. He has an I.Q. of over 200." Hidan's eyes widened.

"You're shitting me, right?" He turned to Shikamaru. "You are shitting me. You think you're so smart huh?"

"Well yeah." Shikamaru walked forward with his hands over his head.

"Come back here you little shit!"

* * *

"Look! It's the office building. Because Tobi is such a good kid he comes here all the time to help. Hidan comes here often but Tobi never sees him."

"Explain." Shino turned to Zetsu. Judging by the lack of enthusiasm on Hidan's part Shino doubted he was a good Samaritan.

"The detention hall is in the same building."

"Sasu-kun can help Tobi! We can become best friends." Tobi grabbed Sasuke's arm. Sasuke forcefully pulled back.

"Don't ever call me Sasu-kun." At this statement Sai quickly pulled out his book of all things social.

"But Sasuke. In my book it says that by using two syllables of ones name and adding a suffix you make that person a close friend. Tobi is just trying to be good friends with you. Right Tobi-kun?" Sai gave a bright but extremely fake smile.

"YES. See Sasu. Your friend here is a good boy."

"Shut up."

* * *

"Okay. The last stop of our tour. The most amazing building in all of Konoha. The fabulous and AMAZING," Deidara gave a dramatic pause for affect. "Non Athletic Clubs building." Hinata clapped for the poor boy that put such effort into making this seems interesting. This made Deidara much more enthusiastic.

"This is the sanctuary of all the truths of humanity. The vessel of goodness and love." Deidara held his hands to the sky. Hinata was grasping ever thing he said. It was poetry. To her surprise, Kiba yawned.

"Why are you guys so girly with your frilly arts and crafts. This is for kindergarten girls, MAN." Kiba mocked. Gaara sighed. In an instant Deidara was clutching Kiba's shirt.

"What did you just say? I dare you to say it again." Deidara shook Kiba. Sasori was pulling Deidara back but this seemed to be taking more effort than Sasori was used to.

* * *

"So how were your tours?" Ino said with a bite in her words. Everyone was under the impression that if any of them replied back to her in cheerful tone she might have thrown them to the ground. Not only did she have to follow around the most gorgeous man her mortal eyes had ever laid upon and not touch him but his insane friend tried to make several passes at Sakura, not her. Ino understood why guys would find Sakura attractive. Sakura lived up to her namesake with with her pretty big green eyes and soft pale pink hair that landed just above her hips. _Sure_, Ino thought begrudgingly, _she could be considered very pretty but when next to me how is it even possible to look at her?_ Ino shot the back of Sakura's head a nasty look before quickly becoming ashamed with her reaction. It wasn't her fault that Kisame wasn't interested in Ino. Ino knew she was good looking and she did her best to accentuate her good qualities so she become content with assuming he must have been insane to ignore the blond beauty.

Hinata was holding Kiba's arm as they walked with the rest of their friends towards a busy street crawling with weary freshman who were all in various states of excitement, tiredness, and anxiety. The pathway was paved with the smell of autumn. They passed the main buildings and entered the fairly large campus town. Well known shops and small boutiques lined the street while students, old and new, wandered aimlessly just looking around or reminiscing.

"H-Halfway through, D-Deidara Sempai tr-tried to hurt Kiba-kun." Hinata looked up at Kiba who was still rubbing his neck and glaring at Gaara for his lack of help.

"You don't even want to know." Chouji rolled his eyes and waved his hands in an air of impatience. Groans escaped all their lips as they swapped horror stories from their tours. Gasps frequently left Hinata as she tried to comfort everyone and assure them that their trips were indeed tougher than the previous story teller. Behind her she heard a familiar voice yell out to her. She turned around to see Tenten calling out to them, one hand waving the other holding a door open. Hinata beckoned the rest of her friends to follow her towards the cafe Tenten was ushering them into.

"You guys look…" She couldn't go on. Ino and Kiba were both staring at her daring her to say anything. "Neji and Lee are already in here. We've been waiting for you guys!"

Tenten held the door for them as they entered the café. It was very modern looking with an assortment of baubles hanging from the ceiling. There were clusters of sleek plastic white tables with chairs in all sorts of bright colors and shapes. Towards the back of the cafe, Neji and Lee had saved them as circular booth.

"I'll take it didn't go well." Neji looked at them with a smirk and got up to let them sit down. He was on one end of the parabola while Sasuke was at the other.

"I hate this school already." Kiba exclaimed throwing his hands down on the table and looking towards Lee.

"It gets better. Don't worry my friends for this will become your home and we will be your family. "Lee patted Kiba on the shoulder in a 'there there' fashion giving him a hopeful smile.

"Aw thanks Papa Lee" Kiba joked back showing signs of recovery. The waitress came to take their orders and in the process took a glance at Sasuke. She smiled flirtatiously at him but he looked the other way.

"Ready to order?" She smiled at them all sweetly, eagerly looking towards Kiba who was giving her a toothy smile.

"Two green teas." Tenten pointed at the two Hyuugas. "Four citrus teas for these guys." Shikamaru raised his hand and pointed to Sai, Chouji, Shino, and himself. "1 diet tea for the blond girl, a raspberry for me, black coffee for the boy with red hair…oh don't give me that look! God knows how little energy you have Gaara. The pink one gets a taro bubble tea and the boy next to her a regular coffee decaf. Two colas, any, for the boy with blond and the kid next to him. That's all." She gave one last glance at Sasuke before quickly waving at Kiba. Her glance didn't go unnoticed by Kiba though and as soon as she turned around he glared daggers at Sasuke.

"So come on! Tell us how it went!" Tenten egged them all. Judging by their looks there were some interesting stories to tell.

"Crazy."

"I'm going to need some pain killers."

"Tobi is an idiot."

"I thought Tobi was fine."

"Sasuke, your brother isn't all that bad." All eyes focused on Naruto. Shikamaru silently berated him for his lack of common sense and tact. Naruto slouched lower in his seat as Sakura, who was opposite to him and seated right next to Sasuke, bore holes into his face.

"I mean. He doesn't seem like what you described." He looked at Sakura and Ino for support. Sakura was still shooting lasers and Ino refused to look his way. Of course she agreed with Naruto but she wasn't stupid enough to express this out loud in front of Sasuke.

"He seemed pretty cool and was actually kind of nice…" His voice trailed off as he saw Sasuke clench his fists.

"Of course he did. He gets to everyone with that completely fake personality." Sasuke said darkly. He paused for a second before reaching into his wallet, placing down a few dollars on the table, and getting up to leave.

"Sasuke come on. You know Naruto's a moron. Don't pay attention to him." Sakura was quick to grab his arm. Sasuke looked down at her with disgust and pulled back.

"Sakura." Neji motioned her to slide back into her seat. He looked towards Sasuke with amusement. "There's no need to defend him. Its Sasuke's right to run away from his problems like a coward. He goes on and on about how terrible his brother is but from what I've seen Itachi's a much more likeable person than Sasuke." Neji stared right at Sasuke challenging him to leave. Just as Sasuke was about to retort, the waitress arrived with their drinks and Sasuke awkwardly sat back down.

"So are you guys planning on joining any of the teams or clubs?" Lee asked hoping to relieve some of the tension. Instantly the mood was lifted as everyone prepared to share their decisions.

"Yearbook of course! I need to make sure all of my pictures are in there. That and I plan to join cheerleading!" Ino faked a cheer using her hands and almost spilled Shikamaru's drink.

"More like drama club." He sighed.

"No thanks! Also art club! Oh why don't we go around the table one by one! Won't that be cute?" She clapped her hands together and motioned towards the girl to her left. "Okay you next Sakura. And don't go into detail. I really don't care about whatever you're joining."

"Fine then." Sakura smiled at her through clenched teeth. "I'm joining student council and scholastic bowl."

"God you are such a nerd billboard brow." Ino rolled her eyes. "Your turn Sasuke-kun!"

"Football, soccer, and student council." He stated casually without looking at Ino.

"No academics Uchiha? What a shame. As for me, I'm on water polo, kendo, student council, chess team, and debate."

"And he still has room for free time on his schedule." Tenten chuckled. "It's almost all sports for me! Kendo, basketball, volleyball, track, and archery. I even take self defense and weapons training classes outside of here too. I'm also part of the student council." She said with a slight hint of pride in her voice as she saw Naruto gape at her.

"I'm taking all the things Gai sensei took as a student here. Track, kendo, water polo, gymnastics, and speech team."

"Gymnastics is a girls-" But before Kiba could finish Deidara flashed in his mind. He shivered and kept quiet looking away from Lee.

"Well, Gaara?"

"Basketball, football, and math team I think."

"Sounds nice. I will be sure to take soccer and football as well as art club."

"OKAY! So I'm going to be the Q.B. for our football team. Not only that I'm going to join the soccer team and track"

"Naruto, I'm going to be the Q.B. I've actually had experience being quarterback in high school! Plus I have a better arm." Kiba stretched his arms in a mock flex.

"There is no way I'm letting you be quarterback this year. Last year was a fluke man. That spot is reserved for me."

"Forget Q.B. Why don't you get an I.Q.?"

"C-Come on g-guys. P-Please stop n-n-now." Hinata held Naruto back. He spilled his drink in anger and it was now dripping onto Hinata's lap.

"Damn. Sorry Hinata. Here let me help you with that."

"Don't touch her." Neji threatened as Naruto grabbed a few napkins. He lightly handed them to her giving her an apologetic smile.

"It's your turn by the way."

"I p-plan on j-j-joining tennis, y-yearbook, and the st-st-student newspaper." She patted her lap with the wad of napkins Naruto handed to her.

"I think I'll just be the football team's manager if you don't mind. Maybe science Olympiad." Shino stated as he grabbed more napkins to clean the spillage on the table.

"Well I'm going to be Q.B." Kiba shouted at Naruto who pretended to ignore him. "And I'm joining baseball. So there. Your turn bro." Kiba turned to Chouji.

"I want to join the culinary club. Football is a given." He fist bumped Kiba who muttered the word "clutch" to him. It was silent as they waited for Shikamaru to respond but he was asleep on top of his glass. Ino pulled it from under him and his head made contact with the plastic table.

"What the hell was that for?" He said in mild surprise. Shikamaru rubbed his forehead and grabbed his tea from her hands.

"What are you going to do this year?" She pushed his shoulder.

"Damn woman. Be patient, will you? Football, basketball, and chess team."

"Chess team? Really now Shikamaru. You can be such a nerd." Sasuke smirked looking towards Shikamaru with a slight playfulness in his eyes. Sakura felt relieved seeing Sasuke revert back to his more comfortable self.

"I was on chess team Uchiha."

"My point exactly, Hyuuga."

"Benefits Uchiha. There are always benefits to these things." He leaned back and let Tenten talk for him.

"Neji won the regional chess tournament. He got a scholarship and a thousand dollars out of it." She leaned back as well.

"Yeah. Sign me up for chess." Shikamaru sighed and laid his head back down on the table only to be greeted by tea.

"What the hell?"

"Sorry. I spilled some tea a while ago. I forgot to clean that up." Naruto looked at him sheepishly moving to grab more napkins.

"Move. I'm going to go wash my face. See you guys back at the dorms."

"Oh come on! It wasn't even on purpose." Kiba groaned. But Shino agreed.

"It's getting late guys. Let's go finish unpacking." They slowly filtered out of the cafe towards their dormitories to start unpacking. Tenten, Lee, and Neji had stayed back to pick up the tab.

"Freshmen are so weird aren't they?" Tenten sighed as they walked out the door feeling the evening on her cheeks. Lee put his arms around their shoulders.

"They are youthful. Fresh and new. It is our responsibility to guide them on their journey through this year."

"Lee. You should write haikus. Go perform at poetry night but please not for us." Neji rolled his eyes but put his arms around Lee's shoulders anyways. Tenten pushed between them and linked her arms in theirs.

"What a bunch of complete morons." She said with a wide grin on her face. "It's going to be an eventful year." They stood on the high school's lawn and stared at the intimidating buildings.

"What makes you so sure this year is going to be any more eventful than last?" Neji disentangled his arms and dug his hands into his pockets.

"The gang's together again." She answered him with a look that said _Isn't it obvious?_ Lee nodded in agreement. Neji looked away towards the dorms shaking his head while a small smile played on his lips.


	4. Chapter 4

Unsurprisingly enough, Hinta had trouble sleeping that night. She tossed and turned around in bed until 1 and was only able to catch a few hours of sleep before waking up again at 3 o'clock. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes listening to Tenten breathe. _In, out, in, out_, Hinata silently whispered the mantra following Tenten's inhales and exhales. Finally she pulled herself out of bed and sat upright looking over at her friend. Tenten was deep in sleep, clutching the plush panda bear Neji had bought her for her 8th birthday.

Hinata rose quietly out of bed and slipped out of the room, through the hallway, and into the small living room. She made herself comfortable on the sofa closest to the window and looked outside. Only a sliver of the moon was on display tonight and there was only just enough light to make the quad barely visible. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. As she opened her eyes, she casually scanned across campus allowing her mind to race with thoughts of suppressed excitement and anxiety. She was of course glad to be at Konoha like the rest of her friends and was thrilled to be living with her closest friends. But she couldn't ignore the sense of dread she felt at the pit of her stomach. What if she did poorly? What if she couldn't maintain the right grades or keep up with any of her classes? She did well in high school but the Academy was different. Panic spread through her whole body as she pulled her knees into her chest and began to exhale and inhale more heavily now. She didn't know how she would be able to cope with the next few week or even this entire year with this overwhelming pressure she felt. On top of that there were times when spells of depression fell upon her and she began to think there is no reason for her existence at all. Her father had Hanabi to stand as his pride and joy. If she disappeared no one would notice. She was the quiet one of the group, the wallflower. Tenten had her sophomore life at school and Sakura and Ino were too close to become a third wheel for. Shino and Kiba would worry at least. She knew that out of everyone they cared for her the most. What she would do without them she didn't know. But instead of allowing herself to be carried away by anymore doubt, she released her legs and stood up. Hinata glanced at the time on the microwave. _4:30._ She walked back down the hall towards the bathroom. After showering and thoroughly drying her hair the clock turned 5.

Sakura groggily moaned in the other room. It would be another 30 minutes before her alarm clock went off.

* * *

In the kitchen Hinata was mixing batter in an old bowl she scavenged from the cardboard boxes still piled in the living room. An obnoxious alarm screamed into Sakura's ear in the other room. She hastily pushed the little frog on top of her clock and wiped her tired eyes. _Just five more minutes?_ She thought. As Sakura debated whether or not it was worth it to waste the 5 minutes her snooze button gave her, Ino's own alarm clock rang. Unlike her pink haired counterpart Ino bounced out of bed. Sakura's eyes flashed open in realization.

"Oh no you're not, Ino!" She raced out of bed to catch up with her already awake friend.

"You snooze you lose, cherry top!" Ino stuck out her tongue and swiftly slammed the bathroom door. Sakura stood there for a while still trying to process what had happened. Once she realized there was no way she could get Ino out of that bathroom, Sakura retired into Tenten and Hinata's room and sat at the foot of Tenten's bed.

"Hey Ten. You want to wake up?" She pushed the covers away from Tenten's head. Sakura looked at Tenten's sleeping figure. She never really noticed before how pretty Tenten really was. Sure it had registered that Tenten was a pretty girl but now looking at her she saw how Tenten's chocolate hair fell delicately over her ivory skin. Her lips were thin and sharp while her cheekbones were very soft and added a subtle innocence to her face. Sakura wondered if Tenten had received lots of love letters in the year she spent apart from them. Now that she thought about it, Tenten never talked about her love life but obviously she must have had one?

"Tenten. Did you hear me? Get up. It's already 5:42." Sakura got off the bed as Tenten slowly got up from under the covers.

"Is anyone using the bathroom?"

"Yeah Ino."

"Then I have an hour to sleep. Go away."

Sakura sighed in defeat. How anyone could sleep as long as Tenten was beyond her. Too much sleep made Sakura groggy all day. She walked into the kitchen, the smell of pancakes greeting her tired body.

"Wow Hinata. You really outdid yourself today!" Sakura eyed the pancakes with avarice. She grabbed a plate and sat down.

"Your teeth?" Hinata motioned towards the bathroom.

"Ino's in there. I'll just wait I guess." She pushed the plate away and sat on the carpeted floor. She curled up on the floor as half an hour later Tenten shuffled towards them. Hinata asked the same question to Tenten who said she'd brush her teeth later.

The bathroom door opened suddenly. Shower fog sprayed out creating a dark shadow where Ino was standing. She checked in the mirror one last time before leaving the bathroom. Clothes in hand, Sakura pushed Ino out of the way.

"Chill. Let me finish applying some more eyeliner."

"Shut up. You look great. Now get out."

"You really mean it?"

"Pinky promise. Now will you leave?" Ino stepped out of the bathroom. She was wearing her uniform but for some reason it didn't look like the school mandated attire. Somehow Ino was able to make it look like something of her own design. The skirt was cut different and her shirt was hiked up a little higher than it was meant to. A few buttoned were undone at the top of her shirt revealing a lacy blue tank top underneath. The idea that every other girl in school would be wearing the same clothes she had on disgusted her and she wasn't going to look like everyone else if she could help it.

"Hina! You look like such a housewife behind the counter there. I bet Naruto would just love to see you in that apron?" Ino winked causing a massive blush to cover Hinata's face. Tenten rolled her eyes and grunted.

"Morning to you too." Ino sat down for breakfast. She was so excited for the day. Nothing could possibly ruin her mood. She was wearing her favorite eye shadow, her lucky best friend charm bracelet with the little pig charm on it, had her school supplies ready to go, and she was eating the best pancakes in the world.

Nothing could possibly ruin her morning.

Nothing.

"Ino, you realize we're going to high school not a night club."

Almost nothing.

"Are you telling me I look trashy?"

"No, it's just that you'll distract every guy in class. You don't want everyone to do as poorly as you, right?" Ino just glared at Tenten who was grinning at her placing her plate into the dishwasher. Sakura walked out of the bathroom taking one last glance into the mirror.

"My turn!" Tenten rushed out of the kitchen and into her room. As she entered the bathroom she tripped causing the contents in her hand to tumble to the ground at Ino's feet.

"Oh. My. God. You have got to be kidding me Tenten, you're seriously wearing pants? That's the guys uniform." Ino whined picking up the skinny black pants. Tenten grabbed them and looked at Ino innocently.

"You can't expect me to kick ass in a skirt?" Tenten closed the bathroom door.

"You should be more worried about having an ass." Ino yelled back. "Can you believe that girl? How is she supposed to get a boyfriend when she can't even act like A PROPER CHICK!"

"A PROPER CHICK?" Tenten screamed from the bathroom. "INO YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING!"

"YOU KNOW I'M NOT. WOMAN UP WILL YOU?" Ino retaliated. Tenten rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. What a sexist thing to say! Who says she can't wear pants? Tsunade-sama supported her 100% in her battle against the uniformed skirts so why couldn't stupid Ino realize there's nothing wrong with wearing pants.

"YOU SHOULD WEAR PANTS TOO YOU KNOW! YOU'RE SO OLD SCHOOL INO. "

"I swear someday I am going to shove that girl into a tube top and she will thank me for making her look so good." Ino then proceeded to bring her voice down to a whisper. "I mean seriously, how is she supposed to get Neji to like her if she doesn't even show off what she's got?" Sakura rolled her eyes and Hinata giggled. Tenten rushed out of the bathroom 10 minutes later and grabbed her book bag.

"Where are you in such a hurry?" Ino looked Tenten up and down as she hastily put up her hair up in her signature buns.

"Promised to meet some of my sophomore friends before class. Sorry I can't hang with you freshies but it would totally ruin my rep." She tickled Hinata before sprinting towards the door.

"We might as well leave too." Hinata smiled recovering herself from the tickle.

* * *

Ino walked down the cosmic hallways. Never in her life had she been to a high school this big. Kids were lined up against lockers checking each other out and comparing schedules. Ino giggled as she caught the eyes of several boys who were looking her up and down and smiling. She was having the time of her life and she was sure her first day was going to be good. Ino just wished Sakura was walking next to her to add to this perfect morning. All three of them had different classes for first period. She was banking on the fact there would be at least one person she knew in her class. She pushed the door open and as she entered the room her eyes locked on two kids sitting in the back.

"NO EFFING WAY!" She shrieked causing several students to snap their heads in her direction. Ignoring the commotion she had caused, Ino stomped all the way to the back and dropped her book bag in front of the two boys.

"I can refuse believe I'm in first period with you two lazy bums AGAIN! It's like kindergarten, and elementary school, middle school, and high school all over!" She sat next to Chouji holding her head in her hands in a frustrated manner. "Why can't I seem to get a break?!'

"Good to see you too." Shikamaru looked away from her and down at his desk. Ino was ranting like she did every year. He tuned her out practically saying the speech in his head. _You do realize that every year we have at least one class together? Do I ever get rid of you guys?_ Ever since they were born the three had been pushed together. Their parents were best friends and Shikamaru practically grew up with Ino as a sister and Chouji as a brother. Christmas, Thanksgiving, summer holidays, and every other special occasion was spent with the Yamanakas and the Akimichis. He grew up with Ino's testy impatience and her bossy attitude. As much as he despised the constant talking or her boy troubles he had to admit she was one of his closest friends and he knew as much as Ino denied it, claiming that Sakura was her best friend, Chouji and him came first.

"Look we're not too thrilled to have you here either." This started a whole new speech on how rude he was. _We're practically family and you're telling me you don't want me here? Do you hate me? _There was no winning with Ino. Shikamaru sighed and accepted defeat. He smirked at Chouji who was calming Ino down. Chouji was always the mediator keeping the peace between the hot-headed Ino and the instigating Shikamaru. Only he could really seem to calm Ino down. Shikamaru could only make it worse.

"Ino, you know Shikamaru doesn't mean it. Personally I'm very glad were all together in at least one class. Family first you know?" He patted Ino's shoulders and looked towards Shikamaru. He smiled back.

"I know. I'm sorry about what I said, Shika. I really do love seeing you guys." Ino pouted innocently. She then narrowed her eyes towards Shikamaru. He really wanted to tell her she looked like a harpie but he knew that wasn't what she was looking for.

"And I'm sorry for my terribly rude comment." He rolled his eyes and looked the opposite direction. The bell rang and students rushed in from the hall to sit in their desks. A man with a cigarette hanging from his mouth walked into class. He looked calm and laid back casually smashing the end of the cigarette into the chalkboard. Noticing the eager look on his teachers eyes, Shikamaru began to think he should have chosen a window seat.

"I'm Asuma-sensei. I'll be your homeroom teacher for this year. I look forward to pushing each one of you to your limits! Now I'm going to call you up here to get your textbooks." Asuma began to call names.

"He gets right to it doesn't he. No formal introduction or anything." Ino said in disdain. But Chouji enjoyed that about Asuma sensei. He seemed like a get to the point kind of guy. No beating around the bush.

"Chouji Akimichi." Chouji got up and rushed down to meet his new teacher. "You have book #17 a personal favorite of mine." He joked.

"Oh thank you sir!" Chouji saluted the man and rushed back up to his seat. Ino rolled her eyes. "You can be so lame sometimes."

"Ino Yamanaka."

"That's me!" Ino raised her hand and smiled sweetly to her new teacher. She marched down to greet Asuma, batting her eyes as he spoke to her. Chouji couldn't believe Ino had called him lame when she was the one already kissing up to the teacher. Ino walked back to her seat frowning.

"Someone needs to take the stick out of that guy's ass."

"He seems fine to me." Ino stuck her tongue out at Chouji.

"Shikamaru Nara." Shikamaru slowly got up and casually walked down towards Asuma.

"Book #19. I hope to see some good work from you this year."

"Will do sir." Shikamaru walked back to his desk. "He's not a bad guy."

"Just shut up."

* * *

"Oh my gosh guys! Can you believe we're in the same class! This is so exciting!" Sakura sat to Naruto's left and placed her book bag on her lap. She began pulling out a black composition notebook and neatly placed her favorite pens and pencils on her desk. Naruto grabbed her eraser which she had placed delicately next to her pencil.

"Good morning Sakura!" He said as he threw the white block to Sasuke who successfully caught it.

"Morning." Sasuke replied to her and threw the block back towards Sakura. She caught it smilingly stupidly at him. He raised her eyebrows and she shook her head.

"What's up?"

"Nothing. I'm just really really excited to start class." Sakura looked away and beamed at the chalkboard.

"Nerd." Naruto coughed under his breath. She snapped her head towards him and began to berate the boy.

Sasuke watched as the two began to fight as usual. Eventually Sakura said she didn't like Naruto's shirt and Naruto replied back saying Sasuke was wearing the same one. The two never seemed to be able to shut up. He looked towards the classroom entrance and watched as Sai walked in. Sai looked at the spot next to Sasuke which was suddenly taken by a girl. She smiled at Sasuke but he just looked towards the seat next to Sakura. He motioned for Sai to sit there.

"Looks like I have to sit next to you, ugly dog." Sai said as he sat next to Sakura who glared daggers at him. The bell rang.

"So you were saying Naruto?"

"Well we are in high school now you know." Naruto began hesitantly.

"Yes, you're right about that. We are in high school." Sakura said impatiently.

"And remember how you said you'd give me a chance once we came to the Academy?" Naruto shifted nervously in his seat. Sai laughed while Sasuke snickered. Naruto knew what was coming. Sakura looked at him in shock but quickly regained her composure.

"Naruto are you for real? It's only the first day of school and you're already asking me out. Look, we're really close friends and I don't want you ruining that. I know for sure that if we did date, you'd ruin it by just being yourself and then we wouldn't be best friends. You see my logic here?" Sakura patted his hand comfortingly. But Naruto took it very well mainly due to the fact that this was just a repeat of the year before. He look at Sasuke with malice. If it weren't for the pretty boy Uchiha he might have actually had a chance.

"Don't look at me like that you idiot. It's your fault girls don't like you." Naruto punched Sasuke's shoulder.

"So we're best friends?" Naruto looked back at Sakura.

"Of course. But we're not super duper best best friends though. That would be Ino." It came out before Sakura had a chance to filter out her thoughts. It was almost as if Sakura has an inner alter ego. One that could say whatever she liked and whatever she felt. By the fifth grade, no one liked her inner Sakura so she had put a filter on it. Think before you speak. But at times of excitement, she sometimes forgot that mantra.

"Super duper best best friend?" Sasuke questioned her trying not to laugh but a smiled crept onto his lips. He turned to Naruto and Sai with an amused look. Sai got up and kneeled in front of Naruto.

"Naruto, will you be my super duper best best friend?" He asked innocently.

"I don't know Sai. You see Sasuke is already my super duper best best friend. I'll have to ask him." Naruto shifted towards Sasuke. "Do you mind if Sai also becomes my super duper best best friend?" It was times like these that Sasuke broke out of his icy cold exterior. When it was just him, Sakura, Naruto, and Sai. Though he hesitated, Sasuke joined in on the joke.

"But Naruto. It hurts knowing you'd choose Sai as well. I thought I was your only." He mocked sadness. All three of them were laughing. Sakura, however, was fuming.

"Cut it out you jerks." She said with her arms in the air. "Shut up already."

She slouched in her seat angrily.

"Oh come on Sakura. We were just joking." Naruto pushed her shoulder a little bit. "If it makes you feel any better you can be Sai's super duper best best friend." They all laughed once more. Before Sakura could retaliate a man with white hair and a a doctors mask came into the room.

"Hello class. I am Kakashi Hatake. I will be your Algebra teacher for the year. Any questions?"

Naruto raised his hands.

"I know, I know. You're wondering about the mask. Well as a child I was quite sick quite often. It was a tragic time in my family's life. From then on I wore this mask to prevent hurt and pain to those I love."

"No sir, I'm just wondering why you're late?" Naruto gave Sasuke a quizzical look. "What's up with this guy?" He whispered.

"I can hear you, you know?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "You see there was this old lady who needed help crossing the road, and then needed help carrying groceries to her car."

"Bullshit!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi just looked at him innocently and turned towards the chalkboard to start writing.

* * *

Hinata nervously entered the classroom hoping to see a couple of familiar faces. She looked towards the back of the room to find Shino and Kiba who both looked like they were wrestling with something in their hands. She quickly rushed to the back.

"W-What's g-g-going on?" She noticed Akamaru in Kiba's hands trying very hard to get out.

"The moron brought him to class. We are so going to get expelled." Shino whispered testily while trying to shove Akamaru into his collar.

"Shino you're such a buzz kill. I mean, I can't just leave him in our room. Poor guy would miss me too much. Isn't that right Akamaru." He scratched the dogs chins and Akamaru gave a loud bark. Shino glared at Kiba and threw the collar on the table exasperated. Hinata picked it up and gently patted Akamaru. The dog calmed down allowing Hinata to put the collar around his neck.

"He really likes you Hina." Kiba flashed her a charming grin. Kiba made room on the lab table for her things and quickly tied Akamaru's collar around the leg of the table. Hinata pulled Akamaru out of Kiba's hands and put him on her lap. Akamaru stopped squirming and licked her hand.

"Lucky dog." Kiba joked rubbing Akamaru's ears.

Shino rolled his eyes pulling out his notebook. He couldn't believe how oblivious Kiba was being. It would only be a matter of time before the rest of the group realized what was going on. He wasn't even sure if Kiba fully realized the extent of his feelings towards Hinata. There was no denying he cared for her. Shino, Kiba, and Hinata had been in the same class together since grade school. They spent much of their free time at Kiba's house doing homework and playing games. Shino loved Hinata as a sister and cared for her as a brother would. Kiba's feeling for her were always a little different than his own. Kiba watched her doing homework for hours at the library, smiled stupidly when she blushed over silly things, and fought anyone who made of Hinata. Kiba always helped her with her books back in high school and drove her home whenever he had the chance. Even if Kiba and Hinata didn't know, Shino was sure Kiba has feelings for Hinata. The bell rang and Shino looked away from Kiba and stared at the lady with black hair and unnaturally red eyes who had just walked in.

"She is hot." Kiba whispered towards Shino. He just sighed but agreed all the same.

"Think I could scored with her?" Shino just elbowed him to be quiet.

"Hello. My name is Kurenai-sensei and I'm your homeroom teacher for this year." She went on to describe the curriculum for the year. As Shino kept paying attention, Kiba was messing around with Akamaru.

"Shhhhh." Hinata warned him.

"Oh come on. Live a little." He whispered back smiling as Hinata broke her stern expression for a smile.

* * *

The bell rang and Sakura jumped out of her seat. Fourth period had finally ended and as excited as she was to start studying the Iliad she was glad to be out of Iruka's classroom. So far she had only seen a few of her friends in her classes and she was looking forward to seeing the rest at lunch.

She rushed to her locker and quickly grabbed her things. As she turned around Sakura bumped into a boy with shoulder length brown hair.

"I am so sorry. I just, I didn't mean to bump into you." She looked up at the boy who just smiled.

"It's okay. You must be a freshman?"

"Yeah. Is it that obvious?" She looked nervously at the boy. He was a good head taller than her. The boy pulled her out from the middle of the hallway. "Nah, its just that I've been here for a year and the only other person with pink hair I know is Tayuya." Sakura shuddered remembering Tayuya.

"Then you're a sophomore?" Sakura glanced up at him. His eyes were brown and warm.

"Oh yeah, sorry, my name is Idate." He held his hand out.

"I'm Sakura Haruno." She firmly shook his hand and laughed.

"How about I walk you to lunch? We're all on our way there anyways." They pushed out of the way and walked with the hoards of students rushing towards the cafeteria.

"Everyone has lunch now? It just seems to inefficient." She looked around at the swarm of students piling into the room.

"Not really. The the juniors, seniors, and fivers have off campus privileges during school hours and they have like completely different schedules than ours anyways so you don't usually find them in here. Besides the mess hall is extremely large. It's actually kind of convenient. Everyone is in one place so seeing your friends from different years isn't hard. I mean now I'm guaranteed to see you at least once a day." He smiled at her and Sakura couldn't help but smile back, blushing creeping up into her face. They walked through doors into an enormous greenhouse. A pathways lead them towards a mall sized food court with various stations offering different cuisines. To the right was a vast courtyard with walkways made of stone leading towards tables placed neatly on the grass. Tall flowering trees provided shade around the tables and there was an open area for student to relax. Sakura saw a few of her classmates throwing around a Frisbee and couldn't believe her eyes as one of the boys had to fish out the disk from large pond.

"This is so cool." She gasped. Idate laughed looking at her expression. He lead her to the lunch lines and gave her a quick tour of the place. From their table under a large willow tree, Ino spotted Sakura.

"How is it that it's only been 4 hours and Sakura has already landed herself a guy." Ino threw her hands in the air in mock exasperation. All heads turned to see Sakura laughing with some boy as they walked through the various stalls.

"AUGH. It is not fair at all. The closest I got was almost getting a cute lab partner. ALMOST. Stupid billboard brow." She glared at Sakura with malice.

"There there Ino. You always have me." Kiba winked placing his hand over hers. She quickly pulled away shooting him a glare. Ino placed her head on the table. An empty lunch tray violently landed right next to her head. She sat upright and look over to find Naruto fuming next to her.

"THEY DON'T HAVE RAMEN!" He complained loudly. Sasuke slapped the back of his head as he placed his tray next to Naruto's.

"You don't have to scream you dumb ass."

"Where's Tenten. Maybe she'll know where to find some." Hinata recommended. Naruto look down the table towards her and smiled. Ino quickly responded.

"Probably sitting by her sophomore friends. You saw her this morning. She's just TOO cool to hang out with a couple of lame freshmen." Ino rolled her eyes once again. Another lunch tray landed across from her as Neji sat down.

"Gossiping again Ino?" He laughed at her.

"Don't get me wrong. She's a good friend of ours and everything but we're not HER only friends."

"True but you are my closest which is why I'm sitting with you guys." Said Tenten as she sat in between Neji and Gaara. Tenten looked past Ino towards the pink girl who was walking towards them. Ino spun around in her seat, crossed her arms, and continued to glare at an excited Sakura.

"So you and Idate! When did that happen? He's so cute I'm almost jealous." Tenten looked Sakura trying to ignore Ino who was looking at her with a curious expression.

"Almost? Is there someone we should know about Tenten dear."

"Oh you know me. I've got the perfect guys right here." Reaching out from behind Ino, Tenten grabbed Rock Lee. They all laughed as a confused Lee was forced down next to Ino.

"But seriously, who is Idate and how did you meet him?" Ino motioned for Sakura to speak.

"Oh, I just accidentally bumped into him in the hallway and he offered to walk me to the cafeteria." Sakura said blushing as she saw Idate walking towards his friends on the opposite side of the building. He looked her way and waved. Sakura waved back. Ino looked back and forth between the two of them.

"I should use that trick on someone." She said. "If it worked for you then it will obviously work for me." She stuck her tongue out at Sakura who looked away from Idate and threw Ino a look of satisfaction.

"Well if you're so great at picking up boys why don't you show me the lineup of guys begging to take you out. Oh wait." Sakura turned back to her panini, smirking.

"Anyways, what is up with Kakashi-sensei. He was freaking 10 minutes late to class!" Kiba prompted, very eager to change the subject.

"He was late to our class too. He used the excuse that he had to help-"

"-an old lady cross the street then help her with her groceries." Lee finished Sai's sentence. He looked around with pride. "Gai-sensei said to first know your enemy you should know his habits. He has all of Kakashi-senseis excused memorized."

"I'd like to meet this Gai-sensei of yours." It was the first time Gaara had joined in the conversation. "I have Anko-sensei instead."

"Augh, what a pain." Shikamaru groaned. "I had her earlier today. But even worse than Anko was Temari. She has the same period gym class as Sai, Shino, and I and she took it upon herself to point out my chicken legs." He sat himself down and place his head on the table.

"I thought you liked her. You said she was a riot correct?" Sai blabbed innocently. Shikamaru's head shot back up and looked at Sai with an expression of _REALLY?_ He buried his head in his hands wishing the boy understood social cues. Sai joined their group of friends last year very late into junior year. They weren't sure about him or where he was from but all they knew was that he was weird and didn't know much about people. He sighed knowing he wasn't going to hear the end of it.

"Ohhh, Shika's got that hots for a junior girl. Ow ow!" Kiba laughed with Akamaru on top of his head.

"I do not have the hots for a junior girl. Especially GAARA'S SISTER." Shikamaru pointed towards the red head who looked at him with mild curiosity.

"K-Kiba. Be n-nice."

"It's okay Shikamaru. Temari being my sister doesn't stop her from being a, what did you call her, a riot?" Gaara joked looking towards Kiba for a reaction. Kiba howled with laughter clutching Hinata's shoulder for support.

"Look Hinata, it's okay to tease Shikamaru about this. He's never had much of an interest in girls anyways and he seriously needs to get a girlfriend soon." Ino said as Chouji nodded in agreement.

"I swear if he doesn't find a girl his mother is going to think he's gay. Which is okay if that's what you're interested in." Ino smiled at the boy who was now stabbing his potatoes. Shikamaru wanted to murder the both of them..

"Ino, why is important to have a girlfriend?"

"Look it's just…well...it makes school much more fun I guess?" Before Ino could explain any further, Naruto smacked the table once again.

"LOOK. I NEED MY RAMEN NOW! Iruka promised they would have some at this school but I don't see any!" Naruto was beginning to get very fussy. They looked towards Tenten for a solution.

"I don't know!" She huffed and went back to her burger.

"BUT I NEED-" Before he could finish his sentence a paper fan hit him on the back of the head. "What was that for?"

"Temari," Gaara looked up at his older sister. "What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd check up on you is all. It's better than Kankuro coming here right." She laughed as Gaara smiled looking down at his food. The fact that Gaara of the Sand smiled was a shock to the rest but it didn't stop Naruto from complaining.

"My ramen?"

Temari sighed. She grabbed his shoulders and turned him around. Pushing through the skinny branches of the tree she pointed to a table where Kisame and Itachi sat.

"You see that table there. Ask for Kakuzo and get some ramen from him. He'll have it." Naruto ran off towards the table without a thought.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered thinking of his torturous tour as he spotted Hidan and Kakuzo chatting animatedly. He turned back to his food but was quickly interrupted.

"Oy, Pineapple head. What did you say?" Temari snickered at him eyeing his hair. Shikamaru really didn't want to hear anymore of her insults during his one moment of peace during the day. He tried to ignore her and get back to his food.

"Pineapple head. That's a good one!" Chouji complimented the upperclassman who took it as an invitation to continue.

"Your free throws were pretty good. Ever thought about joining the girls basketball team?" She smirked as the rest of the tables laughed. Shikamaru put his fork down, looked up, and was ready to retaliate.

"Yeah maybe, but hey, aren't you the captain of the boys wrestling team?" Shikamaru looked at her triumphantly. She glared at him then shook it off with a laugh.

"Clever, I'll give you that kid. " She sat down next to Sakura, across from Shikamaru. The rest of the table was waiting for her next move.

* * *

Naruto hurtled past tables filled with students eating luxury lunches and talking about their day so far. He pushed past a group of girls encouraging their friend to confess her feelings for a boy. He had accidentally pushed a kid into his friends soup. Nothing could stop Naruto from his goal. As the table quickly approached, Naruto slowed down to catch his breath. He gained composure and strode over to the group of intimidating seniors.

"Hey excuse me. My name is Naruto Uzumaki" He announced. The seniors turned to look at him. It was frightening standing there being eyed by the very seniors chosen by Tsunade to represent their school. Naruto continued. "I have 5 bucks. Is that enough to buy ramen from some guy named Kakuzo?"

Someone grabbed the money and handed it to a guy with dark sunglasses and a hood. The man got up and left with his money. Naruto was about to call out to him when Kisame motioned for him to come closer.

"You're the kid I toured right? Itachi's brother's friend right? How's it going man. Sit down!" Kisame moved over and made room for Naruto to sit with them. A few of his friends looked at Kisame then back at Naruto. Naruto smiled cautiously and sat down.

"We'd ask Sasuke to sit with us but you know he'd just spit acid in our face." Naruto laughed with him as the other seniors turned away from their conversation and started whispering to one another. Before Naruto could pay attention to what they were saying Kisame pulled him back towards their previous conversation.

"So how has your first day of school been?" Kisame smiled revealing his strangely sharp teeth again. Naruto gulped and looked at the man sitting opposite to him. Itachi Uchiha was watching him patiently, a bowl of udon placed in from of him.

"Well it's been, um, pretty good so far I guess. Just want some ramen now." Naruto looked into Itachi's udon bowl. The man pushed it towards Naruto.

"Eat up." He smiled and handed Naruto an unused fork. Naruto accepted happily.

"I mean if you don't mind." He grinned at Itachi then back at Kisame. As he slurped up the noodles, he heard his name and 'Sasuke' being thrown around in the whispered conversation of the other seniors at the table. He looked over towards the boy with blond hair. The boy made eye contact with Naruto and quickly nudged Hidan to be quiet.

"Eat your food freshmen." Hidan hissed at him. Naruto turned back towards Itachi and took a great gulp of udon.

"Don't mind them." Itachi said calmly. "It's best if you ignore what they do" The statement almost sounded like a warning. Before Naruto could question him a bowl of ramen landed next to him.

"Here you go." Kakuzo returned the five dollars. Naruto gave him a confused look.

"It's on me." Kisame said pushing the ramen towards Naruto. Naruto thanked them. As he got up, Kisame pulled him back down. "Eat it up here. You'll spill it."

"Wait. Why is the boy still here?" The blond dude asked as if Naruto wasn't present. Itachi shot him a quick glance that silenced the boy. Kakuzo walked towards the boy and whispered something in his ear when he though Naruto wasn't looking. Deidara's face suddenly glowed with comprehension. The blond boy looked at Naruto then at Itachi. He nodded to Itachi and noticed Naruto watching him.

"Eat already."

"So who are the rest of you?" Naruto asked trying not to appear unnerved by the events. Kisame began to introduce the table to him.

"That's Deidara, Sasori, Hidan, Kakuzo, Itachi, you've met. All the way at the end there's Zabuza. Next to him is Haku, cute kid." A petite girl sat next to a large and menacing man who nodded at Naruto.

Before Kisame could continue on Naruto quickly stopped him sensing some animosity from the blond boy.

"Cool. Look I should really get back. My friends are waiting." Naruto needed any excuse to get away from the weirdness of the table.

"Sure. Come back anytime little man." As he got up, he noticed Itachi whispering in Kisame's ear. They both looked at Naruto. As he left he heard Deidara yell something.

"Making friends with that kid has nothing to do with what we discussed" Naruto continued to walk away slightly unsettled by what he heard. The rest of the conversation was muffled as he moved through the crowed towards his own table. He heard an uproar of laughter.

"What's going on?" He asked as he found Temari and Shikamaru glaring at each other. Kiba was laughing too hard to explain what it was that was going on and waved his hands as if to tell Naruto not to ask. Sasuke turned towards the blond boy.

"You were there for a while." He said accusingly at Naruto. He quickly dropped the rude mannerism once he saw the expression on Naruto's face.

"I, well, I can't really explain what happened. I mean I just asked the one guy, Kakuzo, for some ramen then Kisame invited me to sit with them. And then," Naruto paused and looked up at Sasuke. "I heard some of them mention my name and also yours."

Sasuke's face was surprised if only for a second. Then his expression hardened. The rest of the table was paying attention to every word. Sakura motioned for Naruto to go on.

"I guess they were talking about us but didn't want me to hear. Kisame paid for my ramen and everything and then asked me to sit with them. That blond guys, Dei-something, was pissed I was still sitting with them and then Kakuzo sort of whispered something to him and he shut up. I was trying to get out of there as fast as I could. When I got up to leave I heard him saying 'Making friends with that kid has nothing to do with we discussed'. I mean what the hell was that about?" Naruto looked from Sasuke to Sakura. Everyone was quiet for a bit before Neji broke the silence.

"Well that's very strange. You don't know what Deidara could have meant by that?" He questioned Naruto.

"No, I mean I didn't really do any did I? I had just got there so there wasn't any time for Itachi to discuss anything about me with them." At the name 'Itachi' Sasuke's fists clenched again. Sakura put her hand over one of his fists but he pulled away.

"I don't trust them. Any of them." Sasuke said through gritted teeth looking around the table as if each of them was a traitor. Tenten interjected.

"Hey neither do we!" She pointed at herself, Neji, and Lee. "They're a very suspicious bunch. They keep to themselves but even as reclusive as they are they happen to be the most popular group of kids in the entire school. However no one has any idea what they do outside of school."

"Why not?" Chouji asked. Temari scoffed earning herself a glare from Shikamaru.

"Every one of those guys is an heir to their respective family's industries. If they don't want to be seen outside of school, they won't be seen outside of school."

"What, they aren't part of any extracurricular?" Shikamaru asked trying to contradict Temari. She rolled her eyes.

"Well of course they are genius. I mean Tenten is in Kendo with Itachi for goodness sake. She sees the guys on a near daily basis." She pointed towards the brunette. Tenten tried her hardest not to make eye contact with Sasuke. She was hoping to avoid this particular subject. Sasuke threw her an mean look.

"But it's not like they hang out on the quad after practice. You won't find them in any library, or cafe, or even at the clubs in town! Once they leave the school they disappear." Temari said with an air of mystery. Before Shikamaru to press her any further, a boy with an unnatural amount of eyeliner walked towards them.

"Hey Gaara, Hey Tenten. Neji. Lee." He nodded as he greeted them.

"Hey Kankuro." Ino batted her eyes. Tenten rolled her eyes in disgust. She should have known Ino was going to try to score at least one boy today. Ino would drop dead before Sakura got more attention than her.

"Ino." Kankuro smiled back. He looked at the rest of the table and greeted them all.

"So what are you guys talking about?"

"Ita-" Shikamaru kicked Naruto from under the table.

"Nothing." He replied for Naruto. Kankuro raised an eyebrow.

"Well I just came over to say hi. How as your first day of school Gaara?" The red headed boy looked up from his fruit snack and turned to see all of his friends faces looking at him.

"It was fine." He said quietly.

"And how about you?" Kankuro presented his question to Ino.

"Better now." She said flirtatiously. Shikamaru wanted to rip his eyes out. This was ridiculous.

"Well I should get going but it was nice seeing you guys." Kankuro smiled at Ino one more time before he left. Naruto punched Shikamaru.

"Why'd you kick me?"

"He doesn't need to know we're talking about those guys" Shikamaru responded pointing towards the table of seniors who were now getting up to put their trays away. "Besides we're just talking. It's not like they're actually doing something."

"Or maybe they are." Sasuke replied.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

The day was dragging on for Ino as she watched the impossibly slow clock turn closer and closer to 1:50. She had barely manage to stay awake during Iruka's class the period before. If she had to hear Iruka read aloud another verse of Hamlet to them next week, she was going to poison his goblet. Now she was stuck waiting for that moment of sweet escape from her least favorite subject. It had only been a few weeks since school started but she was already sick of the routine. She had a great time decorating the apartment their first weekend. She had spent hours with Hinata purchasing and selecting statement pieces for their common area. She gushed over various throw pillows and posters with Sakura. Ino loved going grocery shopping with Tenten every Thursday and inviting all the boys over for dinner on Sundays. But even with all the fun of living with her friends, Ino couldn't seem to get into the monotony of the average high school day the way Sakura could. Sakura never tired of going to class and that very first day of school enthusiasm still lingered within the pink haired nerd. She rolled her eyes at the thought of the always excited Sakura waking up bright and early each morning having completed all of her homework and then some while Ino was always furiously finishing what she hadn't the day before.

Ino looked over at Gaara who was staring intently at their white haired professor. She only had one class with him and it was honestly the only time she really ever talked to the boy. Though they were all friends and for the most part comfortable around each other in a group setting, there were clearly people who preferred certain people over others. Of course all of the girls. Then there was Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Sai. Hinata, Kiba, Shino. Herself, Shikamaru, Chouji (InoShikaCho, as their parents called them). The sand siblings, as she liked to call them. And of course there were people that she got along with well. She always had a fun time with Kiba and Chouji. Similarly, Tenten would sometimes be invited to play video games with the boys. Sakura would occasionally study with Shino or Neji and Naruto would work out with Lee. But Gaara and Ino never had that type of connection and without cause, there was never a reason to talk to the quiet and almost threatening red head. It was odd having a class with Gaara. She sat by him and had a normal conversation but it was awkward. It wasn't like talking to Naruto or Chouji. They were outgoing, fun to mess with, and easy to relate to. Having only Gaara as a friend in her class forced Ino to get to know him. She was still having trouble coaxing him out of his guarded demeanor but he was more responsive as of late. He looked at her, gave a curt nod, and turned back to the board. Ino swore to herself as Kakashi, who had looked at the clock and realized there was only a minute of class left, rushed to assign everyone homework to complete by next Monday. She looked away from him and back at her notebook where she had started to write down her homework for the weekend. Ino's mind left the classroom and onto a more pressing matter.

Ino was starting to become very worried about Sakura and, more specifically, her relationship with raven haired wonder boy. She noticed that lately Sakura had taken to walking with Sasuke to class and was spending more time with him during their free hours, both during and outside of school. She tried to discreetly talk to Sakura about what was going on and it took a lot of energy for her not to show how upset she was when she found out Sakura had three classes with Sasuke and not to mention they were both going to join student council and would therefore be spending countless hours together. The thought of Sakura spending more time one on one with him than she had to was frightening to Ino. It wasn't out of jealousy even though Sakura and Ino at one point had crushes on Sasuke. Ino had gotten over that forever ago and there was no way in hell she was going to like that boy again. Sasuke was mean, harsh, cruel, and for all of his good looks, this was not something Ino could look past. But she knew Sakura was head over heels in love with Sasuke no matter how many times she tried to deny. Ever since the day she had met the him, Sakura was infatuated. She pretended like she didn't care whether or not Sasuke reciprocated her feelings. She acted as if she only really thought of him as a good friend. She only once ever admitted to Ino that she didn't think she would ever truly get over Sasuke but she understood her interest in him was childish and immature (especially since they were barely young adults) and was learning to appreciate the fact that they were good friends and that Sakura was now someone Sasuke could confide in. Sakura felt that with enough time and exposure to her, Sasuke would warm up to her and maybe even see her as more than just the girl he was friends with by default. Ino was worried that spending so much time with Sasuke was going to bring all of Sakura's feelings back and she didn't want to see her friend relive the horrible heartache. She had to find Sakura a guy soon. Very soon. The bell sounded and Ino quickly grabbed her shoulder bag and walked towards the doors. Gaara was waiting for her outside the classroom.

"Gosh math is so boring!" Ino huffed pulling Gaara through the halls. She stopped by her locker and dropped off her books. The outside her locker was identical to everyone else's but the inside was covered with brightly colored scrapbook paper, pictures of handsome actors, and a small mirror. She checked to make sure her makeup and hair were still put together before closing the locker.

"I mean as entertaining as Kakashi-sensei is I hate the subject." She walked with him towards his locker.

"What do you think?" She said leaning against the lockers trying to engage him in conversation.

"I like it," He gently placed his books away. "It's the same in every country."

"A mean girls quote? Gaara you are so fetch." Ino giggled as she locked arms with him. Gaara looked down at their arms then back at her.

"Mean girls? I didn't think I came off as rude or feminine...?"

"No silly. It's just a quote from one of my favorite movies ever. It's hilarious! We have to watch it some time!"

"Sure." He said with sincerity much to Ino's surprise. As they walked outside Gaara accidentally bumped into a girl with short sandy hair. She had heavy eyeliner on and wore a yellow scarf, green t-shirt, and denim skinny jeans. She dropped her skateboard and stared nervously at Gaara.

"I'm so sorry sir." She was tugging at the hem of her t-shirt. The girl looked at Gaara and Ino. Ino hastily unlocked their arms and motioned that they were in no way dating or an item. She even mimicked gagging then giggled. Gaara paid no attention. He got down and picked up her skateboard. Unlike Kankuro's, which was covered in band stickers or rude symbols, this girl had an elephant and a sticker of a blue man with a red dot on his forehead. He handed it towards her.

"I'm just a freshman. My name's Subaku no Gaara. This is my friend Ino." She took her skateboard back clutching it for dear life. After hearing he was only a freshman her grip loosened. She held out her shaking hand.

"I'm Matsuri" She swallowed hard and gave Gaara another nervous glance. Gaara shook her hand and couldn't help but think they were very soft. He surprised himself with the thought. Just then a boy with gray hair and green eyeliner stood next to her. He grabbed her arm.

"Suri let's go." He winked at Ino. "It's nice to see you again." He said to her hastily before pulling the girl away. The girl gave Gaara an apologetic look before shuffling off after one of the twins. Ino pulled Gaara towards the school exit. As they left the building Ino looked back at the grey haired boy.

"That was Ukon. I'm sure of it." Gaara raised an eyebrow. "I met him during the freshmen orientation. He seemed like a nice guy..." They walked the rest of the way, both lost in thought, soon arriving at the same café they had all met at during orientation. It had become some what of a meeting spot for the gang. There, at the same booth, their friends were waiting for them.

"Geez what took you two so long?" Sakura's fingers impatiently tapped the table. Shikamaru had sent them all 'emergency texts' telling them he had something important to talk about and to meet him here. But he refused to tell them anything about the matter until everyone had arrived.

"Sorry. Gaara had a run in with some really cute girl on our way here." Everyone froze and looked at Gaara. "She was totally into him. And as far as I could tell Gaara wasn't exactly telling her to go away." Of course she exaggerated the situation a little but the way Temari's eyes lit was priceless.

"Way to go man." Kiba patted Gaara on the back who kept a calm expression. "So what's she like?"

"She's seemed kind of cute and she was..." Ino couldn't exactly put into words what the girl was like. "...a little shy?"

"She was nice." Gaara quietly let out. A gasp escaped Sakura's lips. Temari's eyes widened as she looked at Gaara who was trying not to look her way. Her stoic brother was talking about a girl.

"Damn." Was all Naruto could really say. Suddenly the table had erupted into questions.

"So what does she look like?"

"Is she pretty?"

"Did you get her number?"

"What's her name?"

"Instead of discussing Gaara's love life why don't we all pay attention here." Shikamaru waved his hands in front of his face to catch the others' attention. Gaara mouthed 'thank you' and Shikamaru nodded back as everyone settled down.

"So what's with your emergency text? Are you finally coming out?" Temari smirked and looked towards Shikamaru. He didn't understand what it was about this woman that ticked him off so much. Was it her coy attitude or the fact that he couldn't fight back against her? It seemed like he was seeing a lot more of her now that Temari was spending most of her time with their group. She also took it upon herself to harass him whenever she got the chance during gym. She wasn't intimidating per say but she was difficult to combat. In a battle of wits, Temari was as close as Neji to almost beating Shikamaru. He found the challenge exhilarating and though he wouldn't admit it out loud, very flirtatious. However in this situation, he chose to ignore her comment and looked towards the masses.

"So Sasuke and I were talking for a bit after lunch that first day and some more later that week about the Akatsuki thing." He pointed towards the Uchiha who was staring back at him intently. "We were discussing the fact that it was very strange how suspicious Itachi and his friends were. From what we gathered from Neji and Tenten, these guys seem to be up to something. Sasuke over here is 100% sure some conspiracy is going on. I however feel like we don't have any proof to accuse them of anything other than being a group of loners." He folded his hands in front of his face and looked around. Many of them nodded in agreement.

"Yeah so what do you want to do about it?" Kiba yawned putting his arm around Ino. She slapped it away with a laugh. They often played the part of a flirtatious couple within the group though they never took the role seriously. Ino would make loud and flirtatious comments towards Kiba and he would wolf whistle as she walked passed.

"Well that's the reason I texted you guys. Sasuke thinks we should do a background check on them."

These words had shocked everyone immediately. Looks of bemusement and outrage played on everyone's faces. Tenten had let her mouth fall open and Shino looked at Shikamaru as if he something so unforgivably stupid. Some of them, including Naruto and Sakura, looked towards Sasuke. Naruto looked at his friend dumbstruck. Neji was the first to break the silence.

"You want a background check on the Akatsuki?" Neji began. "It's futile. There's no point."

"Why not? You're a Hyuuga. Just have your people do it."

"My people do it?" He looked towards Tenten as if to tell her to do something. She sighed and looked towards the genius.

"Look Shikamaru, it's not that it's impossible. It's just that it is. If there was anything about the Akatsuki it's gone now. The only thing that shows up about any of them online are good things like Itachi winning the kendo championships." Tenten's eyes glowed a little as she spoke about Itachi's winnings which didn't go unnoticed. Sasuke's fists clenched. "Besides we've already checked. Neji had 'his people' do one the second he met Itachi. You think he's not as paranoid as you guys?"

"You're saying you already had a background check done? What did it say?"

"Nothing useful." Neji replied. "Mostly what we already found on the internet. Major accomplishments mostly."

"So you're telling me you found nothing on a group of suspicion teenage boys."

"Yes." He said calmly as Tenten rolled her eyes. For someone apparently as smart as he was supposed to be, Shikamaru was asking some dumb questions.

"Well there it is! Everything they've ever done in high school is covered up. It's practically impossible to find something on them. They're too perfect. I mean isn't that way too suspicious?" He looked around for any disagreements. "They must have done something other than get good grades they're entire time here but they've clearly taken great lengths to cover it up."

"How can you say they did something? What if it is what it is and they're just a good group of kids."

"They're not." Sasuke interjected. He looked at everyone challengingly and no one dared to disagree. Shikamaru continued.

"Regardless, we should at least check. Now, there's only one place even they couldn't possibly mess with. Look guys, you all know me as the laziest person in our group and if even I'm putting in the effort then that has to means something. I don't have a good feeling about the whole ordeal and I want to find out what's up with these guys if not for my own curiosity but for our friend." He nodded towards Sasuke. They patiently waited for Shikamaru to go on. The waitress came by with their orders. Shikamaru grabbed a burger and took a bite.

"I think we should look at their permanent records." Everyone's reactions were different. Kiba choked on his burger as Chouji tried to help him. Naruto started laughing.

"You're so funny man. Seriously what do we do?" Shikamaru calmly took another bite.

"SHIKAMARU! Are you serious?" Ino grabbed his ponytail and made him look at her. He pushed her hand back.

"Look we've done things that were much worse. Remember last year? We helped Naruto cheat on his exams to get into this school. You really think it would be harder than that?"

"We only bumped him up three points in math!" Sakura threw her hands in the air. "It wasn't even that hard. Tsunade kept the files right in the open like she wanted us to change the answers. I don't expect her to have their files right where I can get them. Beside she keeps her most important files on her laptop which there is no way we can get." She folded her arms. Shino looked at Shikamaru then back at Sakura.

"She must have a hard copy somewhere." Shino stirred the fruit mixture in front of him. It wasn't like he wanted to agree with the ludicrous plan but there was no point in arguing. Whenever these idiots came up with a plan they went through with it no matter how dangerous. Shino just learned to go with the flow. It seemed like Shikamaru liked to instigate the hype even though he preached about laziness. Shino figured that Shikamaru just liked figuring things out and that it was much easier when he had control.

"Shino you too? I thought you were the sensible one! Augh." Sakura held her head in her hand. She lifted her head and massaged her scalp. "They're in her office. Behind her desk in these huge filing cabinets. But I can't get the keys." Sakura had spent the summer working for Tsunade. She knew the exact layout and was close to both Tsunade and Shizune.

"Look I can work out the kinks. I just need your cooperation."

"No I'm not doing this. It's ridiculous."

"All in favor." A majority of the table raised their hands. Only Hinata, Lee, and Sakura held reservations.

"Come on Lee! Hinata please. You both would be doing this to help us unveil the mystery of the Akatsuki! I mean how cool would that be? Our first high school adventure? Just think of all the...the YOUTH!" Naruto begged them both to join in. Eventually the two cracked and raised their hands as well.

He turned to Sakura.

"No. I'm not doing this. I can't break Tsunade-sama's trust." She looked towards Ino for help but the blond girl just shook her head. "What if we get caught?"

"We won't." Was all Shikamaru could say but it wasn't very convincing.

"Sakura look. We need you for this plan. Sasuke already agreed so you can just say yes." Shikamaru rolled his eyes pointing at the pale faced boy next to her. Sakura turned red.

"You think just because Sasuke agrees I will? I'm my own person Shikamaru. Remember that." She spat venom at him. Ino gave Shikamaru an incredulous look.

"Sakura he doesn't mean it like that. Just agree. You know as well as I do that we can't do this without you." Ino gave a pout face that Sakura wasn't buying. She was too busy glaring at Shikamaru. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Hey pinky," Temari called out to Sakura. She turned to face the older girl. "We're all begging you. This is probably the most fun you'll have all year. You don't get adventures like this often." Sakura shook her head. She couldn't betray Tsunade-sama but she didn't want to be the buzzkill of the group. That was Shino's job.

"Fine."

"Woot. So what's the plan?" Kiba looked excitedly at Shikamaru.

"I'll figure it out some other time. Can't I just eat in peace already?" He grabbed his burger and ate. As if on cue everyone else went back to eating their foods. Temari threw a ketchup packet at Gaara who dodged it without looking. Instead the packet hit Kiba on the side of the head but instead of getting upset he just opened it and spread the contents onto his fries.

"So this girl. What's her name?"

"Matsuri." He turned back to his food.

"Hey while we're on the subject of your siblings love lives, would you mind telling me if Kankuro is single?" Ino looked at Temari like it was a normal question to ask. Temari threw another ketchup packet at her but it missed and hit Shikamaru.

"Hey!"

"Sorry I missed." She looked at him innocently.

"Some basketball player you are." He mumbled looking back down at his food. Temari just laughed.

"Hey I'm a pro. But seriously Ino don't do it. Kankuro is…a loser. I'm only warning you for your own good. I mean he even plays with dolls." Temari warned. She couldn't believe that any sane girl would date Kankuro let alone the group's boy scrutinizing Barbie. A hand fell on her shoulder as she jolted back. She turned to see the very boy they were talking about.

"They're not dolls. They're puppets sis. And it's part of a collection." Kankuro rolled his eyes. "Hey Ino." He looked at her and smiled. She giggled back.

"Hi Kankuro." She waved back at him. Kiba rolled his eyes while Sai kept his glued on Kankuro. Something in his stomach was churning and he knew it wasn't what he just ate.

"Hi Kankuro." Naruto mimicked Ino and batted his eyes. Everyone was in hysterics while Ino's face flushed with pink color as she looked towards Kankuro with a charming and cute smile. Sai sat watching Ino's interactions with Kankuro slowing gathering a new found sensation of aggression. He was bothered that he didn't know why he was suddenly infuriated with the greetings being exchanged by Ino and Kankuro. Kankuro wasn't a bad person, not that he knew of. But the way he smiled. He didn't like Kankuro's smile. Not at all.

"Look I have to go back. I just saw you guys through the window and thought I'd drop in and say hi." He nodded towards the group of skaters outside. Gaara scanned the group but he didn't see anyone he recognized. Temari pulled Kankuro down and whispered something into his ear.

"Look Kankuro. Do you know anyone by the name of Matsuri? Temari tried to be subtle as her eyes pointed towards Gaara. Kankuro gawked at him.

"Oh my god. Shit. I'll tell you all about it later." He looked back at Ino and winked before escaping through the doors.

"SakuRAH!" She stressed the importance of her words. "I need to go shopping NOW. School is killing me and I could use the relaxation. Besides it's been like three weeks and I need something cute to wear." She nodded towards the door Kankuro just left through. Sakura sighed looking a little agitated but motioned for Sasuke to move over not before shooting Shikamaru one last glare.

"Tenten, Hinata, Temari, come on let's going shopping." They pushed through the seats and headed out the doors. Chouji put his head on his hand and sighed.

"What is it with girls and shopping?" He turned to Neji the oldest of the group, hoping for an answer. He shrugged and took a sip of his tea.

* * *

"Do you seriously like Kankuro?" Sakura said lifting a yellow shirt up to her torso.

"No, no way."

"Oh thank god because I didn't want to tell you this but ew Kankuro really?"

"Sakura! I was talking about that shirt." Ino glared at her from behind the clothes rack. "Look I know Kankuro doesn't seem like the type of guy I'd date but do you remember when you," She pointed to Temari, "Gaara, and Kankuro came to visit Konoha. Well me and Kankuro really hit it off. Plus he's a sophomore so he's like more mature than the losers our age."

"All you did was say hi!" Sakura pushed the pink shirt in front her. Ino shook her head. Sakura thrust it back into the rack. "Tenten help me."

"Look Sakura, I know you're trying to help Ino but I'm going to have to agree with her, for once. Kankuro's not a bad guy. Okay sure he's not very cute and yeah he's kind of weird but at least she's not going for a tool this time, right?" Tenten tossed a blue dress towards Hinata. Temari took it and threw it back with a shake of her head.

"Exact opposite Tenten. I've know Kankuro for what, fifteen years? Though it doesn't seem like it, he's a total player. He's had like maybe 7-8 girlfriends or whatever in like the last year. Granted, they were kind of odd to begin with but still. Don't go for it." Temari patted Ino on the back while handing her a yellow sundress.

"Seriously he'll leave you in a second. He can be pretty shallow sometimes."

"I highly doubt that." Ino scoffed while grabbing the dress. She turned to Hinata. "You decide whether I should give Kankuro a chance." She headed off to the dressing rooms leaving Hinata with the stressful decision. She couldn't possibly decide a person's love life. It was Ino's choice. Well, Kankuro was not a bad kid and he did seem to like Ino back which doesn't seem too bad. She pondered on this for a while. By the time she had made her decision, Ino had danced out of the changing room and was at her side.

"Well?"

"You sh-should just d-date Kankuro." She glanced at Sakura and faced the floor. "Well I mean, if you r-r-really want to that is. It's y-your choice Ino." She looked back up at Ino. The blond girl was smiling big and bright.

"Oh Hina! I knew you'd say that!" She hugged the girl tightly before returning back to the clothes rack. Sakura groaned but she smiled at Hinata to show that she wasn't mad. In fact it was the right decision. Let Ino make the mistake for herself. Sakura found a really pretty blue dress that she wanted to try on but before she could Ino pulled her aside.

"Hey Sakura I just wanted to tell you that we know you're over Sasuke so whenever Shikamaru says that kind of stuff, you know he's just joking." She looked at Sakura in all seriousness.

"Woah yeah I know." Sakura tried to pull out her best smile but it didn't help. Ino gave her what seemed to be a pity hug. "Ew don't touch me." She stuck her tongue out at Ino and went into the dressing rooms.

"Can you believe her? I try to be nice and she acts like such a fathead!" Ino fumed. She knew Sakura was just messing around and she knew that Sakura knew she was also messing around. Ino then addressed Hinata.

"You still like Naruto right?" She saw the blush form from the corner of her eyes. Temari grabbed Hinata's shoulders.

"You like that blond idiot? Oh my god." Temari started to laugh holding onto Hinata for support.

"C-Come on guys. I-It's n-n-not that funny." She moved from under Temari causing her to fall. She giggled while Temari was still laughing on the ground. _Mission accomplished_ Ino thought. She turned to Tenten.

"Well tell me about the boys in your life." Both Sakura and Hinata turned towards her. Tenten never mentioned romance in her high school life in fact Tenten was completely silent about much of her time at the academy. Tenten casually put down a shirt she was holding and looked Ino straight in the eyes.

"You know there's only one man in my life."

"Oh yeah? See him everyday?"

"Yep, I make sure to say hi to him every morning."

"Is he cute?"

"Why of course. Probably one of the hottest guys in school."

"I knew it you! You like Neji. It's so obvious." Ino clapped her hands with happiness. Tenten choked on her gum.

"I'm not talking about Neji, you pig." Tenten threw several shirts at Ino. Neji was her best friend and there was no way in the world would she…well it was true. Tenten did have a very secret and extremely small, almost nonexistent, crush on Neji but she wasn't going to tell Ino of all people. No, that would cause unnecessary drama for the group. Besides, Neji didn't like her. Neji didn't like anyone. She had half a mind to ask him if he were gay because tons of girls practically threw themselves at him and he didn't even look their way.

"Well who are you talking about?" Ino fumed. She couldn't believe Tenten didn't like Neji. They were already practically a couple. She completed his sentences and he walked her everywhere. If she didn't know them personally she would have assumed they had been dating for years. The fact that Tenten was upset over this positively pissed her off.

"I was sarcastically talking about Lee." She crossed her arms and looked at the blonde who mimicked her actions. Sakura laughed at the idea of Tenten and Lee as a couple. Or maybe it was the idea of Lee in general.

"What about you Temari?" Ino turned her questioned towards the taller blond and gave up on Tenten.

"Nah, guys are stupid. Plus I have other things to worry about like school." Temari said. "And if I did like a guy I wouldn't go for some loser who plays with dolls."

"Oh shut up." Ino grabbed her bags and walked out of the store. "And they're puppets."

* * *

Sai returned to the dorm alone. He had stayed behind to pick up the tab since dinner was his treat tonight. He learned that by paying for a meal for his friends on occasion would make them like him more. Everyone else left early to finish homework or hit the gym but Naruto had offered to accompany him back to the dormitories. Sai declined saying he want some time to himself. Ever since he had left his home at ROOT, he was constantly surrounded by someone like Naruto or Sakura. He rarely got the chance to think to himself without having to pay attention to his surroundings.

He pushed open the doors and finally realized that is was close to dark outside. THe sky was turning a pomegranate red tinted with tangerine and darkness followed it. Checking his phone, he saw four missed calls from Naruto and two from Sasuke. Apparently he had spent two hours sitting alone in the large round booth.

It was new to Sai, the idea that someone else was worried about his well being. He had friends who felt for him even compromising time or patience for him. It was unsettling but comforting to have such company. With these friends, Sai gained insight, experience and most of all emotion. This may one day be his downfall but for now Sai was willing to take that risk. But the emotions that confused him now had him on the edge.

Kankuro.

What was it about Kankuro that bothered him so much? Why was he feeling angry that the other brother? Gaara was an exceptional person who showed no major flaws. As his brother, Kankuro should be the same. Well mannered and charismatic, there was nothing wrong with him. In reality, Sai knew that Kankuro was a good person and he liked Kankuro as a friend. That was until he saw the bond between him and Ino. There was something more between those two that he was not able to pin point. But Naruto would know the answer. He had more experience with emotions.

Sai punched the numbers into the keypad and the door buzzed indicating his acceptance into the building. He purposefully avoided the elevator hoping to avoid confrontation. In an elevator there was a higher chance of making unnecessary conversation. Instead he took the stairs, gripping the railing as he pondered the intricacies of the relationship. He absentmindedly opened the door to his room. He entered to find a certain red headed roommate sitting at the table with a few books spread out in front of him. Gaara turned to him and nodded.

"Naruto was looking for you."

"Thank you. Would you like to accompany me to his room Gaara?" Sai tilted his head posing as an appreciative gentleman. Gaara eyed him but closed the book in hand and moved towards the door. Sai followed Gaara down the hall. He could hear shouting coming from the walls as he approached Naruto's room. He knocked twice on the door and almost immediately there was a response.

"Sai! Where the hell have you been?" He pulled Sai into the room and motioned for Gaara to enter. "I thought you got lost or something. Dude, I thought you'd be back like 5 hours ago."

"Five hours ago he'd be at school, Dobe." Sasuke said from behind a coach. Gaara sat at the kitchen island.

"Shut up. So Sai, I was wondering if I could copy your homework. No one else will let me 'compare answers'." He used air quotes. He knew Sai wouldn't get the reference but he tried anyways. In return Naruto received a confused look from Sai and sighs from Gaara and Sasuke.

"Well dickless, I will at a price." Naruto started to grumble as he fished through his bag for his wallet. Sai motioned for him to stop.

"I want to know what this emotion I have been feeling is." Naruto looked relieved while Sasuke and Gaara perked up. They looked at Sai prompting him to begin as Naruto sat on the carpet spreading his papers across the floor.

"Recently when I see Kankuro, I find that I become aggressive and angry towards him. But I cannot come up with a reason." Gaara raised an eyebrow. He couldn't recall there being an incident between Kankuro and Sai in fact he couldn't even remember them saying hi.

"Maybe you're insane." Naruto quipped.

"Him and Ino have a bond." He went on. "And when she smiled at him I had the urge to punch him. Do you understand?" Naruto gaped at Sai. He looked at Sasuke who was also slightly in shock but tried to hide it.

"You're jealous that Kankuro is getting getting all the ladies. No offense Gaara but you're brother seems like a tool when it comes to girls."

"None taken." Gaara turned towards Sai who was shaking his head.

"I do not care about your ridiculous slang for women that compare them to foul." Naruto didn't understand. Sasuke stopped doing his homework and leaned his head back.

"Dobe is an idiot who can't see what's right in front of him. You're jealous that Ino likes Kankuro and you dislike the prospect of them having a relationship." He returned to his textbook while shaking his head. "You like Ino."

"No way. No flipping way."

"It's the only thing that makes sense."

"You like Ino?" Naruto directed the question towards Sai who stood there silently.

"I do like her as a friend. But I have never felt love."

"Well you've felt jealousy and that counts for something." Naruto reminded him. "This is just nasty. I have to go clean my brain out with Lysol." He went into the kitchen to jokingly look for a cleaning detergent.

"Don't worry Sai, we'll keep it a secret." Gaara added looking at the confused expression on Sai's face. Naruto kept laughing while thinking about the two mismatched teens together as a couple. Emotionless Sai and the over dramatic Ino. What a pair.

"This is so weird. Can you even imagine it?" As Naruto laughed burst into hysterics, Sai left the room. He reached his apartment and stumbled inside. Jealousy. Jealousy is envy. A deadly sin. He was envious of Kankuro. Because Ino likes Kankuro?

But why does it matter to him? Why should he care that Ino likes another male? Sure, they had been spending more time together having both joined art club and Ino was always the most patient with him. She answered all of his questions without making fun of him and he enjoyed her boisterous personality. He liked that she was easy to read and displayed her feelings without concern. However, he himself held no feelings for her beyond friendship. Ino is the same as Naruto or Sakura.

He reached into his bag for the promised homework and arrived back at the other room. Naruto was erasing answers that Gaara had kindly marked incorrect. Sai handed him the homework and walked into the kitchen. He reached into the refrigerator for a drink and sat next to Gaara.

"Your brother. He is a good person right?"

"I think so." Gaara confirmed Sai's theory.

"Then I am insane. I should talk to my doctor about the rage."

"Jealousy is normal." Gaara assured Sai. He eyed the red headed boy and couldn't image Gaara understanding. He was just like Sai. Still learning.

"What would you know?"

"I used to be jealous of Naruto." Upon hearing his name the blond boy looked up. Sasuke looked towards Gaara. He set his book down and proceeded to listen in on the conversations. Gaara looked directly at Sai.

"I thought I led a terrible life because of the…this thing. But Naruto, who had the exact same problem, led an amazing life. So I was jealous. I wanted to be him." Gaara turned his head away from Sai and glanced at Naruto who was looking at him with surprise and humble embarrassment.

"Well it's getting late and we have school tomorrow." Sai and Gaara got up, said goodbye, and went back to their apartment. Once they entered the living room, Sai reinitiated the conversation.

"You were jealous of Naruto. So why are you two friends?" Sai unfolded his blanket as Gaara put away some of this clothes.

"Naruto made me realize that I was unnecessarily jealous." Gaara slowly sat down on his bed. He looked out the window. "I used to be hateful, angry, and vengeful. I was a different person. Always fighting with someone, myself, causing trouble and constantly making Temari and Kankuro worry. There was a time when they used to fear me and I controlled them."

Sai looked at Gaara who was escaping into his memories. He tried to picture a rebellious pre academy Gaara. A Gaara that brought fear upon his family. The Gaara he knew now was so peaceful.

"What happened?"

"Naruto taught me a lesson. Made me realize that I was leading the wrong kind of life, that I could have what he had if I tried, and now I'm a better person for it." Gaara ended the conversation. He tucked himself into bed and turned away from Sai.

If Gaara was able to change for the better so could Sai. He could fully understand the wave of new feelings that washed over him. He would extinguish his anger towards Kankuro.


End file.
